Feds Finalize Deal with College Savings Service Upromise Over Privacy Violations

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Tuesday finalized a deal with Upromise, a college savings service, to settle charges that it collected personal information from consumers without adequately disclosing the extent of the date that it was collecting. The settlement [PDF] requires Upromise to: Destroy the data collected with its toolbar; Clearly disclose its data collection practices and obtain consumers’ consent before installing or re-enabling its toolbar; Notify consumers how to disable the data collection tool on their computers; Refrain from making misrepresentations about the extent to which the company maintains the privacy and security of consumers’ personal information; and Establish a comprehensive information security program and to obtain biennial independent security assessments for the next 20 years, a provision also found in the agency’s privacy settlements with Google and Facebook. Background In a statement, the FTC said that Upromise offers consumers a membership service that allows them to save money [...]

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