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Tech News
The Wall Street Journal's Morning Risk Report says companies are struggling with cyberattacks as hackers increasingly use artificial intelligence tools to boost their effectiveness. The same roundup notes the FTC has alleged Amazon tripled advertising prices around Black Friday, and highlights China's growing efforts to assert control over AI development.
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 35 states and Washington, D.C. over its sale of Smart Driver driving-behavior data to data brokers, who resold it to insurers. Many drivers said their insurance premiums rose and that they never knowingly consented to sharing the data. This follows a separate FTC settlement finalized in January that barred GM and OnStar from sharing geolocation or driver-behavior data for five years, after which GM discontinued the Smart Driver feature entirely.
The Federal Trade Commission has sent formal information requests to nine companies, including Walmart, Uber and Delta, demanding details on how they use consumer data to set prices. The agency says it wants to determine whether firms are charging individual consumers the highest price they are willing to pay based on personal data collected about them.
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 20 states, filed suit against Dollar General in federal court in Tennessee, alleging the retailer repeatedly charged customers more at checkout than the prices shown on shelf tags and in advertisements. The complaint cites more than 29,000 consumer pricing complaints and says the overcharges cost shoppers millions of dollars despite the company's awareness of the issue.
The Federal Trade Commission issued an alert describing a scam in which callers impersonate FTC agents, claiming a victim's phone number is being used for fraud abroad and threatening deactivation unless they respond immediately. Victims are transferred to fake police officers, given a bogus case number to 'verify' online, and ultimately pressured to pay a 'security deposit' or travel overseas to resolve the issue.
The Federal Trade Commission is distributing nearly $9.8 million in refund payments to thousands of Walmart customers in the US. The payments follow an FTC complaint alleging Walmart failed to adequately protect customers from scammers who used its money transfer services.
Current and former TikTok employees told NPR that internal reports flagged minors appearing in sexual content that viewers paid to access, with TikTok profiting from the transactions. They also said staff raised concerns about underage users evading age restrictions and blocking parental oversight, and about TikTok avoiding age-verification surveys to dodge FTC scrutiny. Employees say senior leadership knew but responded inadequately, and that concerns about suicide and self-harm content shown to minors were similarly unaddressed.
Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres has introduced the Power to Players Act, a bill that would direct the FTC to ensure consumers who buy video games actually own them rather than receive a revocable license. The bill cites NBA 2K25, which launches September 6, 2025 but is set to become unplayable after server shutdowns on December 31, as an example of the problem it targets.
Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York has introduced the Power To The Players Act, federal legislation directing the FTC to set rules ensuring consumers who buy video games actually own them rather than merely holding a revocable license. The bill would also require games with online functionality to offer an offline mode before their servers are shut down.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued civil subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic seeking documents on recent security incidents, safety safeguards, marketing materials and privacy policy disclosures, according to Axios and confirmed by the FTC to CBS News. The agency is reportedly also seeking testimony from top executives at both companies and plans to send similar demands to other AI firms later.
Representative Ritchie Torres has proposed federal legislation that would direct the FTC to create rules guaranteeing that purchased video games are owned outright rather than licensed, and would require games with online-dependent features to offer offline modes before servers are shut down. Torres cites NBA 2K25, which is being pulled from digital stores on October 30 and losing its servers on December 31, as an example of the problem the bill targets.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic seeking documents related to AI safety incidents. The agency is reportedly examining whether the companies' practices violate consumer protection laws.