MoviePass Settles With FTC Over Fraud and Data Security Failures (theverge.com) 30
On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission charged the executives of the long-defunct MoviePass app over allegations that they fraudulently blocked customers from using the service as advertised while failing to protect their data privacy. The FTC also announced that it had reached a settlement with MoviePass and its executives as a result of the investigation. The Verge reports: Under the proposed settlement, MoviePass, its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, its CEO Mitch Lowe, and chairman Ted Farnsworth are forbidden from falsely representing their business and data security practices to customers. Any businesses controlled by these entities are also required to roll out comprehensive information security programs to protect consumers. "MoviePass and its executives went to great lengths to deny consumers access to the service they paid for while also failing to secure their personal information," Daniel Kaufman, FTC acting director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection said in a statement Monday. "The FTC will continue working to protect consumers from deception and to ensure that businesses deliver on their promises."
The FTC's complaint accuses the company of deceptively marketing its "one movie per day" service to subscribers and barring customers from using the service as advertised. It also alleges that the company falsely invalidated customer passwords over "suspicious activity or potential fraud" in order to ban frequent moviegoers from the service. The FTC also says that MoviePass initiated a ticket verification program as a means of discouraging people from using the service. As part of the settlement, MoviePass' operators must put comprehensive data security programs into place in any future ventures after saving MoviePass customer data in plain text, the FTC said.
The FTC's complaint accuses the company of deceptively marketing its "one movie per day" service to subscribers and barring customers from using the service as advertised. It also alleges that the company falsely invalidated customer passwords over "suspicious activity or potential fraud" in order to ban frequent moviegoers from the service. The FTC also says that MoviePass initiated a ticket verification program as a means of discouraging people from using the service. As part of the settlement, MoviePass' operators must put comprehensive data security programs into place in any future ventures after saving MoviePass customer data in plain text, the FTC said.
Bad Boy. (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't ever do that again.
Ok? Then we're good. Go about building your next business.
You can't blame me for being a skeptic. This kind of "punishment" just ensures that companies will continue to rip off their customers.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
If they won't jail the bankers that wrecked the economy and made millions of families homeless, then they surely won't do anything to the MoviePass fraudsters. Example #345,816,297 of the two-tiered justice system in the U.S.
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If they won't jail the bankers that wrecked the economy and made millions of families homeless, then they surely won't do anything to the MoviePass fraudsters. Example #345,816,297 of the two-tiered justice system in the U.S.
Trolling? This is factually accurate. Whoever says otherwise, is either not paying attention, or profiting from it.
We don't have a "justice" system anymore. We have a legal system. If you don't believe this, then hope and pray you never have to prove yourself wrong, because you probably won't be able to afford it.
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''If they won't jail the bankers that wrecked the economy''
Which time? If you are talking about TARP in 2008/9, actually and unbelievably all of the 700 billion lent to those ''too big to fail'' was paid back. Probably the first time since Iacocca did it with Chrysler. The fuckup up part is that the directors and brokers still made their unfair share. Big Assholes in banking BofA still exists, that truely is sad.
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Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: The punishment is being told not to do it agai (Score:1)
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Now do the 'gram (Score:2)
It also alleges that the company falsely invalidated customer passwords over "suspicious activity or potential fraud"
Go after Instagram! Go after Instagram!
They invalidate your password saying something similar, when it's really because you press control-shift-i and download the highest rez pictures they list in the source javascript.
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So they present a high-quality image, and you're not supposed to choose to download it?
I wonder if they also sell a service where they offer to put the Genie back in the bottle too.
That's what you call an Insta-bubble. It's like they still don't know how the internet works.
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oh, they know it doesn't work and will happily say so when it's to their advantage to do so. it's just there to discourage casual attempts by normies, and to foster the illusion among other normies that their pictures are "protected" lol. you know, like every other copy protection scheme ever?
"never ascribe to technical incompetence, that which can be explained by the callous impunity enabled by binding clickwrap arbitration."
Must be nice to be able to commit crimes (Score:2)
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If all the complainers voted the way they talked, we'd have had a third party POTUS by now. I'm doing my part. Voted for 3 different parties in the last 3 POTUS elections.
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Yeah - voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.
Re: Must be nice to be able to commit crimes (Score:2)
Add ranked choice voting to eliminate voters remorse and weâ(TM)ll have a chance at a multi party system. Until then, fear will keep the power centralized
Re: Must be nice to be able to commit crimes (Score:1)
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Or you could just vote for the moderates within your own primaries (assuming you claim any affiliation). Crossing party lines isn't a requirement toward voting for non-extremists.
Re: Must be nice to be able to commit crimes (Score:1)
Re: Must be nice to be able to commit crimes (Score:2)
You choose to stand by the lever. I don't. Ethics is simple, rationalizing is less so.
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Seriously if anyone ever wants us to stop, y'all need to change how you vote.
Which party has a platform about stopping this kind of thing?
Wow, what a punishment! (Score:3)
"Don't do that ever again, and also your company must write a four-page, double-spaced essay to all your customers explaining how seriously you're taking this. And if your company no longer exists and hence no longer has customers, well, like we said, don't ever do that again".
This is a typical result of a FTC investigation. Anyone else old enough to remember when Nintendo was flagrantly violating monopoly/antitrust regulations and, as a result of the FTC investigation, had to give everyone a $5 coupon for their next Nintendo purchase? Wow, what a real deterrent. The FTC is absolutely not worth saving, the curtain was raised decades ago and not a single company is afraid of the man behind it. Let the Republicans dismantle it if they want to.
It took a settlement for this? (Score:4)
Under the proposed settlement, MoviePass, its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, its CEO Mitch Lowe, and chairman Ted Farnsworth are forbidden from falsely representing their business and data security practices to customers.
If it took settlement terms for them to be "forbidden from falsely representing their business and data security practices to customers", does that mean that it wasn't forbidden before? Since I have never been explicitly forbidden from doing these things, can I do them? Can any of us? Can we falsely represent our business as many times as we want until we are caught or just once?
Why not ... (Score:2)
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Stop fucking self-censoring.
Settle = Get away with. (Score:1)
More amazing corporate responsibility enforcement from the US Government.
Unlimited data (Score:2)
Obviously these executives were too stupid to not weasel word their offering in such a way that it is perfectly legal, like "unlimited data" on cellular plans.