As you guys know I follow the FTC pretty closely especially when it comes to web commerce or services.
Complaint sites and reputation management are big business. Ranking for people and companies names, especially when the title is in a negative result gets a lot of traffic.
On the other side when most consumers see their personal information come up in Google with negative information or “feedback” they will pay whatever it takes to get it removed. And when the same site provides both of these as a service, in my opinion, it’s extortion.
I haven’t really ever seen any litigation from the government on these issues but I think we all figured it was coming eventually.
The Federal Trade Commission charged the operators of the website “Jerk.com†with harvesting personal information from Facebook to create profiles labeling people a “Jerk†or “not a Jerk,†then falsely claiming that consumers could revise their online profiles by paying $30. According to the FTC’s complaint, between 2009 and 2013 the defendants, Jerk, LLC and the operator of the website, John Fanning, created Jerk.com profiles for more than 73 million people, including children.
The defendants also told consumers they could “use Jerk to manage your reputation and resolve disputes with people who you are in conflict with,†according to the FTC’s complaint. They allegedly charged consumers $25 to email Jerk.com’s customer service department, and also falsely told consumers that if they paid $30 for a website subscription, they could access “premium features,†including the ability to dispute information posted on Jerk.com, and receive fast notifications and special updates. But according to the FTC, in many cases, consumers who paid the customer service or subscription fee often got nothing in return.
Interesting stuff.
The FTC generally isn’t very proactive about pursuing anything but rather reactively waits and watches consumer complaints about a website or service before it goes after them.
I gotta think the monthly subscription for nothing part was what crossed the line and triggered all the complaints.
Will be interesting to follow. Â You can read the full press release on the FTC’s website here.
Uhg, the FTC is pretty much a giant ass nanny for adults. They just need to STFU.
That is some straight up shaddy shit, right there. Sounds like that virus where they lock all your shit up unless you pay them within 72 hours.
Wow. That’s crazy. I hope they get these guys.
I was JUST reading about this yesterday. These people are scum. They need to be brought to justice along with any other similar sites.
I don’t know how/why these companies even exist. I mean why would you have a company just to benefit from the suffering of others. It is just sick.
Yea the FTC only ever really seems to care when enough people complain about stuff or their ‘sensibilities’ are offended. I’m actually surprised they seem to be acting proactive on this one.
Barring from deceptive practices? Uh yea, I’d say that’s pretty freakin’ accurate. Bastards. With freedom of speech propaganda and all that it will be interesting to see how this all pans out in the long run. I hope they get their asses sued to hell and back.
I’d like to know how these Jerks pick their prey.
Only $30 to not be a ‘jerk’? Can I send my husband! Bwhahaha!
Interesting indeed. I’ll be keeping my eye out on this one to see how it all pans out, which I’m sure will be months if not years in the making. Oh wait TL;DR!
Just read about this here:
http://interestingread.co/341/ftc-goes-after-jerkcom
Nice Catch Shoe… Crazy
So crazy
So the FTC won’t let people be.
Yikes.. this might not end well for them..