On 21 November 2022 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published conclusions from a survey of 3,000 app users and customers of four trading apps. The research also included consumers from a trading app of a more traditional investment platform.
The FCA concluded that consumers using apps with features that include sending notifications with the latest market news, app points, badges, and celebratory messages for making trades were exposed to high-risk investments not consistent with their investor profile. The FCA found that gamification had been used in these apps to mislead consumers. According to FCA, all apps must review their features to comply with regulations coming into force next year.
On 21 November 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2022. The report showed robocall complaints and the types of calls consumers complained about to the FTC, among other data.
Imposter calls, both live and robocalls, again topped the list reported by consumers. Warranties and protection plans stand second among the complaints. The top five states of complaints were: Delaware, Ohio, Arizona, Maryland, and Virginia. In 2022, 2.5 million people signed up with the Do Not Call Registry.
On 21 November 2022 Italy’s antitrust and competition authority (AGCM) released Bulletin 42/22, mentioning a fine of EUR 1 million against Telecom Italia (TIM) for unfair commercial practices concerning Premium, Executive, and Magnifica fibre offers. Iliad Italia and several consumers had filed complaints.
AGCM concluded TIM failed to present essential information to consumers about the different fibre plans.
On 18 November 2022 Senators Cantwell and Cruz proposed the ‘Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act’. According to the bill, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would create disclosure guidelines for products with audio or visual recording components.
The new regulation would encourage consumer awareness of household devices, such as refrigerators, washers, and dryers that are capable of recording and transmitting data without the consumer’s knowledge.
In the USA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued the third of a three-part series on securing the software supply chain – Securing Software Supply Chain Series – Recommended Practices Guide for Customers. This publication follows the previously published guides for developers and suppliers. The guide includes recommended practices for software customers to guarantee their purchased software’s integrity and security.
On 17 November 2022, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released an order requiring broadband providers to display easy-to-understand labels allowing consumers to do comparison shopping for broadband services. The providers must show labels with crucial information, including prices, speeds, and data allowances.
An Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act was presented in the US Senate. According to the bill, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will create a disclosure guideline for products with audio or visual recording components, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and dishwashers. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives last summer.
In the Autumn Statement 2022, UK Government announced the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer bill in the third Parliamentary session. The bill follows several consultations in recent years.
The bill will provide powers to the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), change the competition framework, and protect consumers against ‘subscription traps’ and fake reviews online.
On 16 November 2022, the Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force. The DSA applies to digital services connecting consumers to goods, services, or content. Online platforms will have until 17 February 2023 to report the number of active end users.
The European Commission suggests all online platforms notify it regarding these numbers. Then, the Commission will determine if the platform is a large online platform or a search engine. Following this determination, the platform will have four months to comply with the DSA. EU members will have until 17 February 2024 to accredit their Digital Services Coordinators.
In the USA, Google will pay the biggest privacy settlement of US$391.5 million, following 40 states’ investigations of the company’s misleading location tracking practices between 2014 and 2020. According to the investigations, the users thought that they had disabled location tracking in their account settings, while Google still collected user location data through its other apps. In addition to paying the settlement sum, Google also agreed to provide more detailed information about location tracking, including what kind of data is still collected when location tracking is turned off for some settings, but not others. Moreover, it shall inform the users how to disable location tracking, erase data collected in the settings, and set data retention limits.
