On February 14, 2022, Noom Inc., a popular weight loss and fitness app, agreed to pay $56 million, and provide an additional $6 million in subscription credits to settle a putative class action in New York federal court. The class is seeking conditional certification and has urged the court to preliminarily approve the settlement.
Continue Reading Fitness App Agrees to Pay $56 Million to Settle Class Action Alleging Dark Pattern Practices

The FTC settled charges with mobile advertising company Tapjoy, Inc., on allegations that the company failed to provide promised rewards in exchange for completed activities such as the payment of money, disclosure of sometimes-sensitive personal information, or registration for “free trial” marketing offers.
Continue Reading FTC Pursues Advertising Network that Failed to Deliver In-Game Rewards in Exchange for Payment or Personal Information

On August 6, 2020, President Trump signed executive orders imposing new economic sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.) and the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) against TikTok, a video-sharing mobile application, and WeChat, a messaging, social media and mobile payments application.
Continue Reading U.S. Government Takes Aim at TikTok and WeChat Citing Privacy and Security Concerns

On November 17, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission released a report assessing the issues confronting consumers and regulators stemming from the rise of sharing economy apps such as Uber and Airbnb. The report describes how the Internet has allowed sellers and consumers to connect in order to provide services between individuals.
Continue Reading FTC Releases Report on “Sharing Economy” Platforms

On June 22, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that a settlement was reached with mobile advertising company, InMobi, to resolve charges that it deceptively tracked hundreds of millions of consumers’ locations without their knowledge or consent. Among other things, the settlement orders the company to pay 950,000 dollars in civil penalties.
Continue Reading Ad Network to Pay a Civil Penalty to Settle FTC Charges

On April 27, 2016, a federal district court judge in the Western District of Washington ruled that the Federal Trade Commission had proven that Amazon.com had engaged in unfair business practices in billing Amazon account holders for in-app charges without express, informed consent to such charges.
Continue Reading Judge Rules that Amazon Unfairly Billed Parents for Their Kids’ In-App Purchases