Goldenshores Technologies, LLC and Erik M. Geidl; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment, 75350-75352 [2013-29531]

Download as PDF 75350 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 11, 2013 / Notices O (August 27, 2013 Notice 1). Due to the federal government shutdown (October 1, 2013–October 16, 2013), the FTC extended the comment period to compensate for that interval and ensure that interested persons had a full opportunity to file comments.2 No comments were received in either instance. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR Part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the preexisting clearance for the Rule. All comments should be filed as prescribed herein, and must be received on or before January 10, 2014. Comments on the information collection requirements subject to review under the PRA should additionally be submitted to OMB. If sent by U.S. mail, they should be addressed to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. Comments sent to OMB by U.S. postal mail, however, are subject to delays due to heightened security precautions. Thus, comments instead should be sent by facsimile to (202) 395–5167. emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES Burden Statement The FTC is seeking clearance for its assumed share of the estimated PRA burden regarding the disclosure requirements under the FTC and CFPB Rules. The FTC’s assumed share of estimated PRA burden, explained in the August 27, 2013 Notice, is 32,500 hours, $1,866,975 for labor costs, and $250,000 for non-labor costs.3 Request for Comment You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before January 10, 2014. Write ‘‘Regulation O PRA Comment, FTC File No. P134812’’ on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https:// www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from 1 78 FR 52915. 2 78 FR 75649, 75650 (November 1, 2013) (comment period for Regulation O extended to November 13, 2013). 3 78 FR at 52917. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:00 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 232001 comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person and which is privileged or confidential,’’ as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).4 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ regulationopra2, by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https:// www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Regulation O PRA Comment, FTC File No. P134812’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 4 In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before January 10, 2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. David C. Shonka, Principal Deputy General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2013–29589 Filed 12–10–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION [File No. 132 3087] Goldenshores Technologies, LLC and Erik M. Geidl; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment Federal Trade Commission. Proposed consent agreement. AGENCY: ACTION: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order—embodied in the consent agreement—that would settle these allegations. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before January 6, 2014. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ goldenshorestechnologiesconsent online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ‘‘Goldenshores, File No. 132 3087’’ on your comment and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ ftc/goldenshorestechnologiesconsent by following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerry O’Brien (415–848–5189), FTC, Western Region, San Francisco, 600 DATES: E:\FR\FM\11DEN1.SGM 11DEN1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 11, 2013 / Notices Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for December 5, 2013), on the World Wide Web, at https:// www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130–H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326–2222. You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before January 6, 2014. Write ‘‘Goldenshores, File No. 132 3087’’ on your comment. Your comment— including your name and your state— will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:00 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 232001 inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ goldenshorestechnologiesconsent by following the instructions on the webbased form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Goldenshores, File No. 132 3087’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before January 6, 2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order To Aid Public Comment The Federal Trade Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing consent order from Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, and Erik M. Geidl (‘‘respondents’’). 1 In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 75351 The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement or make the proposed order final. Since at least February 2011, respondents have marketed a mobile application called the ‘‘Brightest Flashlight Free’’ mobile application (‘‘Brightest Flashlight App’’) to consumers for use on their Android mobile devices. The Brightest Flashlight App purportedly works by activating all lights on a mobile device, including, where available, the device’s LED camera flash and screen to provide outward-facing illumination. As of May 2013, users have downloaded the Brightest Flashlight App tens of millions of times. The Commission’s complaint alleges two violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive and unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce, by respondents. First, according to the complaint, respondents represent in the Brightest Flashlight App’s privacy policy statement and enduser license agreement (‘‘EULA’’) that respondents may periodically collect, maintain, process, and use information from users’ mobile devices to provide software updates, product support, and other services to users related to the Brightest Flashlight App, and to verify users’ compliance with respondents’ EULA. The complaint alleges that this claim is deceptive because respondents fail to disclose, or adequately disclose, that, when users run the Brightest Flashlight App, the application transmits, or allows the transmission of, their devices’ precise geolocation along with persistent device identifiers to various third parties, including third party advertising networks. Second, the complaint alleges that respondents falsely represent in the Brightest Flashlight EULA that consumers have the option to refuse the terms of the Brightest Flashlight EULA, including those relating to the collection and use of device data, and thereby prevent the Brightest Flashlight App from ever collecting or using their device’s data. In fact, regardless of whether consumers accept or refuse the terms of the EULA, the Brightest Flashlight App transmits, or causes the transmission of, device data as soon as the consumer launches the application and before they have chosen to accept E:\FR\FM\11DEN1.SGM 11DEN1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES 75352 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 11, 2013 / Notices or refuse the terms of the Brightest Flashlight EULA. The proposed consent order contains provisions designed to prevent respondents from engaging in similar acts or practices in the future. Specifically, Part I prohibits respondent from misrepresenting (1) the extent to which ‘‘covered information’’ is collected, used, disclosed, or shared and (2) the extent to which users may exercise control over the collection, use, disclosure, or sharing of ‘‘covered information’’ collected from or about them, their computers or devices, or their online activities. ‘‘Covered information’’ is defined as ‘‘(a) a first and last name; (b) a home or other physical address, including street name and name of city or town; (c) an email address or other online contact information, such as an instant messaging user identifier or a screen name; (d) a telephone number; (e) a Social Security number; (f) a driver’s license or other state-issued identification number; (g) a financial institution account number; (h) credit or debit card information; (i) a persistent identifier, such as a customer number held in a ‘‘cookie,’’ a static Internet Protocol (‘‘IP’’) address, a mobile device ID, or processor serial number; (j) precise geolocation data of an individual or mobile device, including but not limited to GPS-based, WiFibased, or cell-based location information (‘‘geolocation information’’); (k) an authentication credential, such as a username and password; or (l) any other communications or content stored on a consumer’s mobile device.’’ Part II requires respondents to give users of their mobile applications a clear and prominent notice and to obtain express affirmative consent prior to collecting their geolocation information. Part III requires respondents to delete any ‘‘covered information’’ in their possession, custody, or control that they collected from users of the Brightest Flashlight App prior to the entry of the order. Parts IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the proposed order require respondent to keep copies of relevant advertisements and materials substantiating claims made in the advertisements; to provide copies of the order to its personnel; to notify the Commission of changes in corporate structure that might affect compliance obligations under the order; and to file compliance reports with the Commission. Part IX provides that the order will terminate after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions. The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:00 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 232001 proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the complaint or the proposed order, or to modify the proposed order’s terms in any way. By direction of the Commission. Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2013–29531 Filed 12–10–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [60Day–14–0739] Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404–639–7570 or send comments to Kim Lane, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D–74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an email to omb@cdc.gov. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice. Proposed Project CDC Oral Health Management Information System (OMB No. 0920– 0739, exp. 4/30/2014)—Revision— National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Public Health Promotion (NCDDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Background and Brief Description The CDC works with state health departments to improve the oral health of the nation. Targeted efforts include building and/or maintaining effective public health capacity for the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of best practices in oral disease prevention and advancement of oral health. Through a cooperative agreement program (Program Announcement DP13–1307), CDC will provide funding to 21 states over a fiveyear period. New cooperative agreements went into effect in September 2013 and build on previous funded collaborations involving CDC and state programs. Of the 21 awardees, 3 are funded at the Basic level (Component 1, infrastructure) and 18 are funded at the Enhanced level (Component 2) which includes additional activities. The cooperative agreement funding will be used to strengthen state-based oral health infrastructure and capacity, implement and expand evidence-based interventions that increase communityclinical linkages, such as school-based dental sealant programs; increase and maintain environmental systems level changes that support healthy behaviors, such as community water fluoridation; implement strategies that improve the delivery of targeted clinical preventive services; and promote beneficial health systems changes. CDC funding will also help states reduce health disparities among high-risk populations including, but not limited to, those of lower socioeconomic status, rural populations, Hispanic, African American and other ethnic groups. CDC is currently approved to collect annual progress and activity reports from state-based oral health programs. An electronic reporting system has been in place since 2007 and was enhanced in 2008 to capture information about grantees’ success stories and environmental scanning activities. The information collected in the management information system (MIS) improved CDC’s ability to disseminate information about successful public health approaches that can be replicated or adapted for use in other states. CDC plans to implement changes to the existing information collection. Through a Revision request, CDC will increase the number of awardees from 20 to 21; describe changes in the MIS platform and data elements that will align the monitoring and evaluation framework for oral health awardees with the framework used for a number of other programs in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and E:\FR\FM\11DEN1.SGM 11DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75350-75352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29531]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 132 3087]


Goldenshores Technologies, LLC and Erik M. Geidl; Analysis of 
Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to 
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft 
complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent 
agreement--that would settle these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/goldenshorestechnologiesconsent online 
or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment 
part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write 
``Goldenshores, File No. 132 3087'' on your comment and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/goldenshorestechnologiesconsent by following the instructions on the 
web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail or 
deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerry O'Brien (415-848-5189), FTC, 
Western Region, San Francisco, 600

[[Page 75351]]

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, 
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement 
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with 
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been 
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The 
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the 
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic 
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained 
from the FTC Home Page (for December 5, 2013), on the World Wide Web, 
at https://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained 
from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-
2222.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before January 6, 2014. 
Write ``Goldenshores, File No. 132 3087'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, 
on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to 
remove individuals' home contact information from comments before 
placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which . . . is privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole 
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/goldenshorestechnologiesconsent by following the instructions on 
the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that 
Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Goldenshores, File No. 
132 3087'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before January 6, 2014. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has 
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing consent 
order from Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, and Erik M. Geidl 
(``respondents'').
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the 
agreement and the comments received, and decide whether it should 
withdraw from the agreement or make the proposed order final.
    Since at least February 2011, respondents have marketed a mobile 
application called the ``Brightest Flashlight Free'' mobile application 
(``Brightest Flashlight App'') to consumers for use on their Android 
mobile devices. The Brightest Flashlight App purportedly works by 
activating all lights on a mobile device, including, where available, 
the device's LED camera flash and screen to provide outward-facing 
illumination. As of May 2013, users have downloaded the Brightest 
Flashlight App tens of millions of times.
    The Commission's complaint alleges two violations of Section 5(a) 
of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive and unfair acts or practices 
in or affecting commerce, by respondents. First, according to the 
complaint, respondents represent in the Brightest Flashlight App's 
privacy policy statement and end-user license agreement (``EULA'') that 
respondents may periodically collect, maintain, process, and use 
information from users' mobile devices to provide software updates, 
product support, and other services to users related to the Brightest 
Flashlight App, and to verify users' compliance with respondents' EULA. 
The complaint alleges that this claim is deceptive because respondents 
fail to disclose, or adequately disclose, that, when users run the 
Brightest Flashlight App, the application transmits, or allows the 
transmission of, their devices' precise geolocation along with 
persistent device identifiers to various third parties, including third 
party advertising networks.
    Second, the complaint alleges that respondents falsely represent in 
the Brightest Flashlight EULA that consumers have the option to refuse 
the terms of the Brightest Flashlight EULA, including those relating to 
the collection and use of device data, and thereby prevent the 
Brightest Flashlight App from ever collecting or using their device's 
data. In fact, regardless of whether consumers accept or refuse the 
terms of the EULA, the Brightest Flashlight App transmits, or causes 
the transmission of, device data as soon as the consumer launches the 
application and before they have chosen to accept

[[Page 75352]]

or refuse the terms of the Brightest Flashlight EULA.
    The proposed consent order contains provisions designed to prevent 
respondents from engaging in similar acts or practices in the future. 
Specifically, Part I prohibits respondent from misrepresenting (1) the 
extent to which ``covered information'' is collected, used, disclosed, 
or shared and (2) the extent to which users may exercise control over 
the collection, use, disclosure, or sharing of ``covered information'' 
collected from or about them, their computers or devices, or their 
online activities. ``Covered information'' is defined as ``(a) a first 
and last name; (b) a home or other physical address, including street 
name and name of city or town; (c) an email address or other online 
contact information, such as an instant messaging user identifier or a 
screen name; (d) a telephone number; (e) a Social Security number; (f) 
a driver's license or other state-issued identification number; (g) a 
financial institution account number; (h) credit or debit card 
information; (i) a persistent identifier, such as a customer number 
held in a ``cookie,'' a static Internet Protocol (``IP'') address, a 
mobile device ID, or processor serial number; (j) precise geolocation 
data of an individual or mobile device, including but not limited to 
GPS-based, WiFi-based, or cell-based location information 
(``geolocation information''); (k) an authentication credential, such 
as a username and password; or (l) any other communications or content 
stored on a consumer's mobile device.''
    Part II requires respondents to give users of their mobile 
applications a clear and prominent notice and to obtain express 
affirmative consent prior to collecting their geolocation information. 
Part III requires respondents to delete any ``covered information'' in 
their possession, custody, or control that they collected from users of 
the Brightest Flashlight App prior to the entry of the order.
    Parts IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the proposed order require 
respondent to keep copies of relevant advertisements and materials 
substantiating claims made in the advertisements; to provide copies of 
the order to its personnel; to notify the Commission of changes in 
corporate structure that might affect compliance obligations under the 
order; and to file compliance reports with the Commission. Part IX 
provides that the order will terminate after twenty (20) years, with 
certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or the proposed order, or to modify the 
proposed order's terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-29531 Filed 12-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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