WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced April 14 that, following a public comment period, it has approved final orders with three companies following allegations of deceiving consumers through the misrepresentation of company participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system.
Under the APEC CBPR system, APEC member companies can make privacy-respecting data transfers through a voluntary, enforceable mechanism. The system is backstopped by FTC enforcement.
The three companies that purportedly deceived consumers are Sentinel Labs Inc., an endpoint protection software provider; SpyChatter Inc., a marketer of the SpyChatter private message app; and Vir2us Inc., a distributor of cyber security software.
In three separate cases, the FTC alleged these companies falsely represented that they participated in the APEC CBPR system.
Under the terms of the settlements, each company is barred from misrepresenting participation in privacy or security programs sponsored by a government or self-regulatory or standard-setting organization.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the final orders with Sentinel Labs, SpyChatter and Vir2us, and a response letter to one commenter.