Kevin Johnson reports: Citing an “explosion” of online sextortion cases involving children, federal authorities Monday issued an unusual national public safety alert in an attempt to intervene in increasingly aggressive schemes linked to more than a dozen suicides in the past year. At least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, have been identified as targets in operations largely…
Fortnite Video Game Maker Epic Games to Pay More Than Half a Billion Dollars over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges
— Epic will pay a $275 million penalty for violating children’s privacy law, change default privacy settings, and pay $245 million in refunds for tricking users into making unwanted charges — The Federal Trade Commission has secured agreements requiring Epic Games, Inc., creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520…
Support King, banned by FTC, linked to new phone spying operation
Their lips say “No, we don’t,” but do their logs say otherwise? Zack Whittaker reports: A year after it was banned by the Federal Trade Commission, a notorious phone surveillance company is back in all but name, a TechCrunch investigation has found. A groundbreaking FTC order in 2021 banned the stalkerware app SpyFone, its parent company Support King,…
Sen. Wicker Throws Fresh Wrench in Kids’ Online Privacy Measure
Maria Curi reports: A key Republican lawmaker is pushing for language in legislation to protect children’s privacy online that would thwart the bill’s sponsors push to pass it before the year ends. Pressure is ramping up on lawmakers to pass privacy protections after decades of failed efforts. Protecting children online is popular among members of…