The Federal Trade Commission asserted Tuesday that LifeLock violated a
Shares of LifeLock dropped nearly 48% late Tuesday after the action against the company was announced.
In documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, the
The 2010 settlement stemmed from FTC allegations that LifeLock used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services. The settlement barred the company and its principals from making any further deceptive claims; required LifeLock to take more stringent measures to safeguard the personal information it collects from customers; and required LifeLock to pay $12 million for consumer refunds.
It is essential that companies live up to their obligations under orders obtained by the FTC, said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection. If a company continues with practices that violate orders and harm consumers, we will act.
The FTC charged Tuesday that in spite of these promises, from at least October 2012 through March 2014, LifeLock violated the 2010 settlement by: 1) failing to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program to protect its users sensitive personal data, including credit card, social security, and bank account numbers; 2) falsely advertising that it protected consumers sensitive data with the same high-level safeguards as financial institutions; and 3) failing to meet the 2010 orders record-keeping requirements.
The FTC asserts that from at least January 2012 through December 2014, LifeLock falsely claimed it protected consumers identity by providing alerts as soon as it received any indication there was a problem.
Details of the FTCs action against the company were filed under seal. The court will determine which portions of the case will be unsealed.
