Federal Trade Commission

Biden picks Chopra, Gensler for financial oversight roles

Jan. 18, 2021 5:42 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Rohit Chopra to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tapping a progressive ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren to helm the agency whose creation she championed. Chopra, now a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, helped launch...

Anti-scaling fencing has been placed in front of the Supreme Court, which stands across the street from the U.S. Capitol, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alan Fram)

Business as usual for high court, despite riot, impeachment

Jan. 14, 2021 2:48 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid insurrection and impeachment, the Supreme Court's big news Thursday was a decision in a bankruptcy case. Wednesday brought arguments over the Federal Trade Commission's ability to recapture ill-gotten gains. At this fraught moment in U.S. history, the court is doing its best to keep...

FILE - This combination of file photos shows a Google sign and the Facebook app. As a wave of antitrust actions surges against Google and Facebook, states in two lawsuits are stretching beyond the cases made by federal competition enforcers to level bold new claims. (AP Photo/File)

States making bold new legal claims in 2 Google lawsuits

Dec. 18, 2020 3:13 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a wave of antitrust actions surges against Google and Facebook, states in two lawsuits are stretching beyond the cases made by federal competition enforcers to level bold new claims. The states are taking new legal approaches as they join the widening siege against the two once...

CORRECTS TO A GROUP OF 35 STATES AS WELL AS THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND TERRITORIES OF GUAM AND PUERTO RICO FILED, INSTEAD OF 38 STATES FILE - This Oct. 20, 2015, file photo, shows signage outside Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. A group of 35 states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers. The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. by states represented by bipartisan attorneys general. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Dozens of states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google

Dec. 17, 2020 8:02 PM EST

DENVER (AP) — Dozens of more states are joining an escalating effort to prove Google has been methodically abusing its power as the internet's main gateway in a way that hurts consumers habitually feeding personal information into its search engine and advertisers pouring billions of dollars into its vast...

Editorial Roundup: US

Dec. 16, 2020 6:04 PM EST

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 16 The Philadelphia Inquirer on evictions once the Centers for Disease Control's nationwide moratorium ends: Millions of households nationwide could find themselves evicted from their homes soon after New Year’s Day as one of the...

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2016 file photo, a person in Miami searches the internet for sales. Online shopping scams are on the rise as thieves look to take advantage of the increase in people shopping online during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

How to spot fake shopping sites and avoid being scammed

Dec. 15, 2020 4:37 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Black bought what he thought was a well-priced drone online. But the drone never showed up, the site stopped responding to his emails and he never got his $100 back. He was scammed. “I’m pissed I got caught in it,” says Black, who lives in Westminster, Colorado. ...

FILE - This Feb. 25, 2020, file photo shows the icon for TikTok in New York. The social media app shared its list of top 100 videos, creators and trends in America in 2020. In action announced Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens. (AP Photo/File)

Agency homing in on social media companies' data collection

Dec. 14, 2020 8:30 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens. The Federal Trade...

FILE - In this April 11, 2018, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data privacy. Federal regulators asked Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, for Facebook to be ordered to divest its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services as the U.S. government and 48 states and districts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Q&A: What's next for Facebook in the antitrust case?

Dec. 10, 2020 6:42 PM EST

Could Facebook be forced to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram? That’s what the U.S. government is seeking in a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday, the same day dozens of states sued the social media giant on similar grounds. Whatever happens, experts expect a long-drawn out battle that Facebook...

FILE - In this July 29, 2020, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks via video conference during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on antitrust on Capitol Hill in Washington. Federal regulators asked Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, for Facebook to be ordered to divest its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services as the U.S. government and 48 states and districts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner via AP, Pool, File)

US antitrust siege of tech widens with lawsuits vs Facebook

Dec. 10, 2020 12:01 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The giant tech companies whose services are woven into the fabric of social life are now the targets of a widening assault by government competition enforcers. Regulators filed landmark antitrust lawsuits Wednesday against Facebook, the second major government offensive this year against...

FILE- In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, New York State Attorney General Letitia James takes a question at a news conference in New York. Federal regulators and a group of states launched a landmark antitrust offensive against Facebook, accusing the social network of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. “It’s really critically important that we block this predatory acquisition of companies and that we restore confidence to the market,” said James during a press conference announcing the lawsuit. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

US govt, states sue Facebook for 'predatory' conduct

Dec. 9, 2020 5:48 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook Wednesday, accusing it of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of the social network's Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services....

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