FTC proposes $5M penalty for NGL Labs, founders over COPPA violations
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-07-09T20:26:00
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered anonymous messaging app creator NGL Labs and its two founders to pay $5 million for unfairly marketing to children and falsely claiming artificial intelligence (AI) filtered out bullying messages and threats.
The FTC additionally ordered FTG to stop marketing to children under 18, the agency announced in a press release Tuesday.
Created in 2021 by Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo, the “NGL: ask me anything” app was marketed as a “safe space for teens” and allowed users to receive anonymous messages, including candid and slanderous ones, from friends and contacts. The company engaged in aggressive, coercive marketing tactics toward children, the FTC alleged.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
PremiumFTC sounds alarm on business practices turning into ‘vast surveillance’
The Federal Trade Commission took aim at the business models of some of the world’s largest companies, publishing a years-long study that decried technologies that have created “vast surveillance” networks that expose people to “a host of harms” and violate children’s privacy laws.
-
News BriefFTC wants answers from Mastercard, JPMorgan, others on use of AI to collect data
Eight large companies, including Mastercard and JPMorgan Chase, have been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to provide detailed reports about their possibly secret use of artificial intelligence to track customers and use the information to set prices.
-
News BriefSpongeBob game developer ordered to pay $500K over CCPA, COPPA violations
Popular children’s mobile game developer Tilting Point Media agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations the company illegally collected children’s personal data, a violation under the California Consumer Privacy Act and a federal children’s privacy law.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleDOJ makes good on corporate-friendly enforcement policy with Balt resolution
The ink was barely dry on the U.S. Department of Justice’s new corporate enforcement policy (CEP) when the agency announced it would not prosecute Balt SAS for alleged bribery violations.
-
ArticleBoA settles class-action related to its dealings with Jeffrey Epstein
Bank of America has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging know-your-customer and other failings in its dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
-
News BriefSEC’s Uyeda: ‘Enforcement is the wrong way’ to handle off-channel communications
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Mark Uyeda told an audience of investment advisers that the SEC will no longer prioritize stand-alone enforcement actions for violations of the SEC’s rules on off-channel communications.