FTC

The Federal Trade Commission this week said it sent letters to six unidentified mobile applications makers warning them that their background screening apps may be violating federal statutes.

Facebook is close to reaching a deal with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that the social network engaged in "deceptive behavior" when changing its privacy settings, according to a report.

Theories abound about the role politics is playing in the FTC's antitrust probe of Google.

Public-policy group asks FTC to investigate Facebook for alleged attempt to create virtual-goods monopoly.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission files a lawsuit against a Canadian entrepreneur who allegedly offered free trials of products, but charged customers.

Even as some privacy watchdog groups cheer the Federal Trade Commission's decision Wednesday to force a settlement with Google over privacy violations resulting from last year's launch of the search company's Buzz social networking service, others are expressing concern that the FTC didn't go far enough.

Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, microblogging service Twitter has agreed to implement a better information-security policy following separate, successful hacks into user accounts in 2009.

First developers and content companies hated it. Then the media got in its shots. Now the federal government and European regulators are casting a skeptical eye toward Apple's recently announced shakedown terms of business for content providers selling their product through Apple's App Store.

The FTC wants a new framework to address privacy challenges, including a "do not track" setting so consumers can choose whether to let entities collect data regarding their online searching and browsing activities.

Two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation of online search giant Google's Street View mapping project without taking action, another government agency is picking up where the FTC left off. From CNNMoney:

Several major U.S. Internet companies, including Google and Facebook, need to "step up" and better protect consumer privacy or face tougher penalties from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a commissioner said Wednesday.

In what appears to be a warning shot, the Federal Trade Commission has sent out letters to about 100 companies, informing them about sensitive and confidential data from their networks being found on publicly available on peer-to-peer networks.