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Who protects you from making a bad purchase... on your smart speaker?

Apr 29, 2019
Today's voice assistants and smart devices can act like salespeople who knock on your door.
Amazon’s patents show how voice recognition technology could be used to learn about users' physical and emotional states. Above, Amazon Echo Dots.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Tracking the “King of Robocalls”

Apr 2, 2019
A Wired reporter tells about the man responsible for nearly 100 million automated calls.
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

The FTC has no chief technologist as it weighs big tech investigations

Apr 2, 2019
The last person to hold the job says there are many ways the agency can get input on technology issues.
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

What's next for the FTC's new task force on tech?

Feb 28, 2019
The FTC's new task force, announced this week, hopes to amp up scrutiny of big tech firms.
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

Who controls the data that fuels real estate deals?

Jun 5, 2018
A decade ago, the government told the real estate industry to start sharing its data. What has that meant for competition?
David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Senate Democrats seek vote to restore net neutrality

May 9, 2018
A group of senators — mostly Democrats — plans to file a petition Wednesday to force a Senate vote on restoring net neutrality, the Obama-era rule that said all internet traffic must be treated equally. The Federal Communications Commission repealed the rule late last year.  Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Why the Do Not Call list won't save you from robocalls

Jan 24, 2018
It was a great idea when it started. Now, it's become a bit of a joke.
A pedestrian using his cellphone walks past a boarded establishment showing skeleton heads with cellphones in Los Angeles in January.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Here’s what to do if your identity is stolen

Fraud alerts, credit reports, freezes — the Federal Trade Commission has an action plan.
The FTC has instructions on what to do if you've stopped receiving government benefits because of identity theft. Above, blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury facility in Philadelphia.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

Dealing with identity theft can cost you — but should it?

Aug 11, 2017
We often talk about cyber security as a way to prevent other people from accessing your personal information, but what can you do if the worst actually happens? That’s what David Lazarus had to find out after someone used his social security number. Lazarus, who writes the Consumer Confidential column for the LA Times (and […]

FTC fights against new strategy for delaying generics

Apr 1, 2016
FTC files case against drug maker for deals cut with two generic firms that extend its monopoly
John Moore/Getty Images