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Upromise Settles with FTC Over Collection of Consumers' Personal Information
On January 5, the FTC announced that Upromise had agreed to settle charges that its collection of consumers’ personal information was deceptive and an unfair practice, and that the collection violated federal law. Upromise’s website offered consumers a “TurboSaver Toolbar” download with a “Personalized Offers” feature to tailor savings opportunities to the consumer. The FTC alleged that the feature collected and transmitted, without encryption, the names of websites consumers visited, which links they clicked on, and information entered into webpages such as search terms, user names, and passwords. According to the FTC, the information collected also included credit card and financial account numbers, security codes and expiration dates, and Social Security numbers. Upromise’s privacy statement, however, stated that (i) the toolbar would only infrequently and inadvertently collect personal identifying information, (ii) personal information would be removed before the data was transmitted, and (iii) Upromise automatically encrypts users’ sensitive information. The proposed settlement requires in part that Upromise (i) destroy data collected, (ii) update its disclosures, (iii) notify consumers regarding the type of information collected and how to disable the toolbar, and (iv) obtain a biennial independent audit for the next twenty years. The proposed settlement is open for public comment through February 6.
FTC Obtains Agreement from Payment Processor to Prohibit Use of New Payment Method
On January 5, the FTC announced a settlement with a payment processor and two of its principals that will prohibit the company from using a new payment method, through which accounts were debited without account-holder consent. The FTC alleged that the company actively promoted the method as a way to avoid scrutiny associated with other payment methods, and ignored red flags - such as payment-rejection rates exceeding 80 percent - that its merchant customers were seeking to defraud account-holders. As a result, according to the FTC, consumers incurred significant costs, including for overdraft fees. In addition to banning the use of this payment process, the settlement requires, among other things, that the company monitor client return rates and investigate rates exceeding 2.5 percent.