Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission business and news from across the web.- FTC reaches settlement that brings right-to-repair to John Deere farm equipmentThe Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with John Deere that will bring right-to-repair protections to the company's farm equipment. The FTC had previously sued the tractor manufacturer.
- Evening Legal BriefsThe Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission has fined Amazon $2.25 million for alleged violations of the Fair...
- Midday Safety DanceThe US Federal Trade Commission has been urged to investigate Roblox concerning allegations of inadequate child safety measures and aggressive in-game spending practices. The BBC reported on the watchdog's potential involvement.
- The FTC says Americans lost at least $2.1 billion to social media scams in 2025Americans lost at least $2.1 billion to social media scams in 2025, an eightfold increase since 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Investment and shopping scams were prevalent, with Facebook being the primary platform, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. The FBI also reported significant losses to internet-related crimes, including cryptocurrency and AI scams.
- AI company deletes the 3 million OKCupid photos it used for facial recognition trainingAI company Clarifai has deleted 3 million OkCupid profile photos from 2014 used for facial recognition training, following a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC investigated Clarifai after reports that the company violated OkCupid's privacy policy by using the photos without consent. Clarifai has certified the data deletion and confirmed no models trained on the data were shared with third parties.
- Federal jury finds concert business Live Nation is a monopolyA federal jury has determined that Live Nation, which operates the Ticketmaster platform, is a monopoly and has violated antitrust rules. The ruling's practical implications, including potential remedies like the sale of Ticketmaster and monetary damages, are still to be determined by the judge. The Department of Justice and state attorneys general had sued Live Nation on monopoly claims, with a separate case also being waged by the Federal Trade Commission.
NZXT Pays $3.45M Settlement Over Rental PC Scam AllegationsNZXT has agreed to a $3.45 million settlement over allegations concerning its rental PC program, which has been criticized for potentially predatory practices. Independent reviews, particularly from Gamers Nexus, brought attention to the issue, highlighting concerns about the long-term cost and transparency of such rental schemes. This settlement serves as a warning to the hardware industry regarding consumer protection and corporate accountability.
Adult games may be an unintended beneficiary as FTC pressure payment providers like Visa and Mastercard not to debank Trump supporters, but I doubt itThe US Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to major payment providers like Visa and Mastercard, urging them not to deny services based on political or religious views. This action, intended to prevent discrimination against Trump supporters, could inadvertently benefit the adult games industry by discouraging payment processors from bowing to pressure that previously led to content delistings on platforms like Itch.io and Valve.
The video game payment processor crisis may be getting better, thanks to the American Federal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued warnings to payment processors like Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal, stating they cannot deny service based on political or religious views. This action may alleviate the ongoing crisis affecting video game developers and platforms, such as Itch.io and Valve, who have faced restrictions on content and payment services due to pressure from these processors.
Remember when Mastercard pressured Steam to remove a bunch of NSFW games? The FTC says that's not cool—sort…The US Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to major financial services companies like Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, and Stripe, expressing concerns about potential political or religious discrimination in their services. This action follows Valve's report that Mastercard pressured Steam to remove NSFW games, a claim Mastercard denies, stating they only allow lawful purchases. The FTC's investigation could impact how payment processors handle content restrictions.- OkCupid settles FTC case on alleged misuse of its users' personal dataOkCupid and its parent company Match Group have settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission regarding alleged misuse of user data in 2014. The dating service was accused of sharing three million user photos and location information with a third-party AI company, Clarifai, without proper user consent. The settlement prohibits future misrepresentation of data collection practices and consumer choices, with OkCupid stating current practices are strengthened.
- Adobe agrees to pay settlement for making its subscriptions hard to cancelAdobe has agreed to a $75 million settlement with the US government to resolve a lawsuit alleging deceptive subscription practices. The company was accused of making it difficult to cancel subscriptions and obscuring early termination fees. Adobe denies wrongdoing but will provide free services and pay the settlement amount, while also stating it has streamlined its subscription processes.