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☆ Don’t let AI hype lead you into illegal ‘AI-washing,’ SEC chair warns companies and investment advisers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Publicly traded companies that misleadingly or untruthfully promote their use of artificial intelligence risk engaging in “AI-washing” that can harm investors and run afoul of US securities law, said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a speech on Tuesday. They also shouldn’t lie about whether they use an AI model or how they use AI in specific applications, Gensler added. One would be the intentional use of AI to facilitate securities fraud, Gensler said Tuesday. The SEC could target those who deploy AI in ways that create reckless or knowing disregard for the risks to investors, Gensler said. He said the SEC could also investigate those who place fake orders in violation of securities law, or investment advisers who place their own interests ahead of their clients’.

Persons: Gary Gensler, “ We’ve, ” Gensler, Gensler, Alvaro Bedoya Organizations: Washington CNN, Securities and Exchange Commission, Publicly, SEC, Yale Law School, Federal Trade Commission

In the 2019 agreement, Facebook, which became Meta in 2021, was required to pay $5 billion for violating an earlier agreement. The company filed a separate appeal against Judge Timothy Kelly's ruling this week that it should be an FTC judge, not a district judge, who decides that case. This new lawsuit, filed late on Wednesday, argues that it is unconstitutional for the FTC to unilaterally tighten an existing consent agreement. The Meta complaints focus on the agency's dual role of prosecuting a matter before an FTC judge. Once the FTC judge makes a decision it is the commission which votes on whether to accept it.

Persons: Yuri Gripas, Judge Timothy Kelly's, Lina Khan, Rebecca Slaughter, Alvaro Bedoya, Meta, Diane Bartz, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Facebook Inc, Headquarters, REUTERS, Rights, Facebook, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Meta, FTC, Big Tech, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S

☆ FTC plans to hire child psychologist to guide internet rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Trade Commission plans to hire at least one child psychologist who can guide its work on internet regulation, Democratic Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya told The Record in an interview published Monday. FTC Chair Lina Khan backs the plan, Bedoya told the outlet, adding that he hopes it can become a reality by next fall, though the commission does not yet have a firm timeline. Surgeon General issued an advisory in May that young people's social media use poses significant mental health risks. Bedoya told The Record that it's "absolutely part of that tradition of systematically expanding our expertise." "If someone is making an allegation about mental health harms, I have no full-time staff who are experts in the psychology of it."

Persons: Alvaro Bedoya, Lina Khan, Bedoya, Douglas Farrar, I've, Aspen Institute's Vivian Schiller Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Democratic, FTC, CNBC, ., U.S, Privacy, Technology, Georgetown University Law Center, Aspen Locations: Federal, U.S

☆ Amazon to Meet Regulators as U.S. Considers Possible Antitrust Suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( David Mccabe | More About David Mccabe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

commissioners, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The scheduled meetings signal that the F.T.C. is nearing a decision on whether to move forward with a lawsuit arguing that Amazon has violated antimonopoly laws. Such discussions are sometimes known as “last rites” meetings, after the prayers some Christians receive on their deathbed. As a $1.4 trillion behemoth, Amazon has turned into a major force in the economy.

Persons: Lina Khan, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Alvaro Bedoya Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Metro, Goldwyn, Mayer

The FTC settlements are the agency's latest effort to hold Big Tech accountable for policies critics say place profits ahead of privacy. In its complaint against Amazon.com filed in Washington state, the FTC said that it violated rules protecting children's privacy and rules against deceiving consumers who used Alexa. In one instance in 2017, an employees of Ring viewed videos made by at least 81 female customers and Ring employees using Ring products. As part of the FTC agreement with Ring, which spans 20 years, Ring is required to disclose to customers how much access to their data the company and its contractors have. In February 2019, Ring changed its policies so that most Ring employees or contractors could only access a customer’s private video with that person’s consent.

Persons: Alvaro Bedoya, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Anna Driver Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, FTC, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Seattle, Washington

☆ FTC says Meta should be barred from monetizing data from younger users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC said Meta should be banned from monetizing data it collects from younger users. In a statement on Wednesday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone called the FTC proposal “a political stunt” and vowed to contest the effort. Meta had allowed personal information to leak to apps that users of the platform were no longer using, the FTC alleged. That data sharing, the FTC claimed, contrasted with Meta’s public statements about how it cuts off a third-party app’s access to Facebook users’ information if the users stop using the third-party app for 90 days. In a statement, Bedoya said he was skeptical whether there was enough of a connection between Meta’s alleged harms and the proposed remedies to legally sustain a complete ban on monetizing the data of young users.

☆ Meta opens up its Horizon Worlds VR app to teens for the first time, prompting outcries from US lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Meta is forging ahead with plans to let teenagers onto its virtual reality app, Horizon Worlds, despite objections from lawmakers and civil society groups that the technology could have possible unintended consequences for mental health. On Tuesday, the social media giant said children as young as 13 in Canada and the United States will gain access to Horizon Worlds for the first time in the coming weeks. Zuckerberg has pushed to spend billions developing VR hardware and software, even as Meta has scaled back significantly in other parts of its business. “Meta is despicably attempting to lure young teens to Horizon Worlds in an attempt to boost its failing platform,” said Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who last month, along with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, urged Zuckerberg to reconsider letting teens use the app. Lawmakers have previously raised alarms about the impact of some of Meta’s other products, including Instagram, on younger users.

☆ US FTC leaders will target AI that violates civil rights or is deceptive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERSWASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday the agency would pursue companies who misuse artificial intelligence to violate laws against discrimination or be deceptive. Bedoya said companies using algorithms or artificial intelligence were not allowed to violate civil rights laws or break rules against unfair and deceptive acts. "It's not okay to say that your algorithm is a black box" and you can't explain it, he said. Khan agreed the newest versions of AI could be used to turbocharge fraud and scams and any wrongdoing would "should put them on the hook for FTC action." Slaughter noted that the agency had throughout its 100 year history had to adapt to changing technologies and indicated that adapting to ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools were no different.

☆ FTC chair Lina Khan warns AI could ‘turbocharge’ fraud and scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT could lead to a “turbocharging” of consumer harms including fraud and scams, and the US government has substantial authority to crack down on AI-driven consumer harms under existing law, members of the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday. Addressing House lawmakers, FTC chair Lina Khan said the “turbocharging of fraud and scams that could be enabled by these tools are a serious concern.”In recent months, a new crop of AI tools have gained attention for their ability to generate convincing emails, stories and essays as well as images, audio and videos. While these tools have potential to change the way people work and create, some have also raised concerns about how they could be use to deceive by impersonating individuals. “Throughout the FTC’s history we have had to adapt our enforcement to changing technology,” said FTC Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter. “Our staff has been consistently saying our unfair and deceptive practices authority applies, our civil rights laws, fair credit, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, those apply,” said Bedoya.

☆ Republican FTC Commissioner Wilson announces resignation, saying Chair Khan has a 'disregard for the rule of law'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Christine Wilson, nominee to serve on the Federal Trade Commission, testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in Hart Building on February 14, 2018. Christine Wilson, the sole remaining Republican on the Federal Trade Commission, announced Tuesday she plans to resign, citing what she said was Democratic Chair Lina Khan's "disregard for the rule of law and due process." Wilson announced her resignation, which she said will come "soon," in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Throughout Khan's tenure at the helm of the commission, Wilson has frequently bemoaned her approach in remarks at public meetings and in speeches. Former Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips, a Republican, resigned in October, but without the kind of broad critique that Wilson wrote.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Christine Wilson, the sole Republican on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said on Tuesday she will resign soon, blaming the move on the agency's top official, Lina Khan. "Much ink has been spilled about Lina Khan's attempts to remake federal antitrust law as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission," Wilson wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Wilson said in the piece that she would resign "soon" but gave no date. "I dissented on due-process grounds, which require those sitting in a judicial capacity to avoid even the appearance of unfairness," wrote Wilson. Wilson accused the Biden administration FTC of overstepping by being too aggressive in stopping mergers and banning most noncompete clauses.

☆ Warren tells FTC she is "particularly concerned" about Amgen and Indivior deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Warren said that both Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics "have engaged in brazen price increases," including on Amgen's Enbrel for arthritis and Horizon’s Krystexxa, a gout medication. She noted that the FTC had settled with Indivior and its former parent over its attempt to protect its monopoly of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. Indivior makes Sublocade -- a slow-release treatment for opioid addiction that is administered monthly. "The FTC should strongly consider Indivior's history of anti-competitive and deceptive practices when evaluating howIndivior might behave after this potential transaction is completed," wrote Warren. Warren noted that the FTC, which has long focused on healthcare mergers, said in 2021 that it would prioritize pharmaceutical acquisitions.

☆ FTC seeks to hold Drizly CEO accountable for alleged security failures, even if he moves to another company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In a new proposed settlement, the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to hold a tech CEO accountable to specific security standards, even if he moves to a new company. The FTC claims that despite being alerted to the security concerns two years before the breach, Drizly and Rellas did not do enough to protect their users' information. In a statement, Wilson wrote that naming Rellas will not result in putting "the market on notice that the FTC will use its resources to target lax data security practices." But it later dropped him from the complaint after the company said Zuckerberg would not try to personally buy Within. "We take consumer privacy and security very seriously at Drizly, and are happy to put this 2020 event behind us," a Drizly spokesperson said in a statement.

The four FTC commissioners voted three to one to begin the lengthy process of writing rules by seeking comments on the prevalence of fraudulent online reviews and junk fees. These are sometimes labeled "service charges" on phone bills or imposed by hotels as "resort fees." FTC guidelines already say that posting fake reviews and endorsements is illegal. And it has proposed a rule to ban junk fees by car sellers. The commission also voted to begin the process of updating existing rules governing funeral homes.

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