The FTC settled with PayPal over allegations Venmo customers weren't adequately informed about balance transfer procedures, preventing them from being able to pay bills. PayPal failed to tell customers Venmo balance transfers to external bank accounts could be subject to review, potentially resulting in frozen or removed balances, the agency announced. Its complaint said consumers say “Venmo delayed the withdrawal of funds or reversed the underlying transactions after initially notifying them that the funds were available.” The agency alleged Tuesday Venmo misrepresented information about the amount of protection for consumer accounts from “bank grade security systems,” violating the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. No fine was levied, said a PayPal spokeswoman. “This brings to an end the investigation that primarily focused on Venmo platform issues and practices prior to acquisition by PayPal.” She said her company has strengthened privacy and data security practices. PayPal bought Venmo in 2014. “Consumers suffered real harm when Venmo did not live up to the promises it made to users about the availability of their money,” said acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen.

Industry and government representatives have been “handicapped” in defending global digital infrastructure, and USTelecom and the Information Technology Industry Council “stand ready” to create “new solutions,” their executives wrote Monday. The organizations last week announced the Council to Secure the Digital Economy (CSDE) (see 1802230054). USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter and ITI CEO Dean Garfield co-authored an opinion piece in the Morning Consult saying industries most often targeted for cyberattacks are those with the most to lose, including government and critical infrastructure. They said government and industry made “significant advances” in applying security measures in the U.S., Europe and Asia, but there hasn't been adequate strategic and operational coordination across sectors and countries. Garfield and Spalter cited some positive developments, including President Donald Trump’s executive order in 2017 and other executive branch measures on botnets and automated threats.

The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will have its first meeting of the year March 28, 1-5 p.m., in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC headquarters. CSRIC last met in December (see 1712120036). The meeting is the fourth of CSRIC VI, said a notice set for publication Monday in the Federal Register.

Antitrust enforcers can do more to police digital market competition, with one option being FTC examination of serial acquisitions by dominant firms, outgoing Commissioner Terrell McSweeny reported this week. With attorney adviser Brian O’Dea as co-author, McSweeny said the agency could do such examinations of defensive acquisitions as a course of conduct under FTC Act Section 5 “unfair method of competition” authority. She acknowledged arguments against taking a more aggressive approach, citing Herbert Hovenkamp and Phillip Areeda's assessment that dominant firms habitually buying rivals can actually add incentive for investors to enter markets. She also cited economist Carl Shapiro, who said competition and innovation might increase if the DOJ and FTC “could selectively prevent mergers that serve to solidify the positions of leading incumbent firms, including dominant technology firms, by eliminating future challengers.” While outside the realm of antitrust, McSweeny suggested another way to increase competition and improve services in digital markets is to give consumers more control over data: “Regulations permitting consumers to withdraw their data in a usable format when they want to use a different service may also lower barriers to entry for less data-rich innovators.”

The Supreme Court won't review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's decision overturning of the FCC junk fax rule (see 1802020002), it said. The court said Justice Samuel Alito didn't take part. Counsel for the petitioners didn't comment Monday.

Junk faxer Scott Malcolm and his DSM Supply and Somaticare companies failed to show the $1.84 million fine levied by the FCC (see 1602180064) violates the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, the agency said in an order on reconsideration Thursday, rejecting Malcolm's petition for reconsideration of the fine size. It said Malcolm should have raised the fine amount matter when issued a notice of apparent liability, and his petition for reconsideration didn't meet the burden of showing the forfeiture imposed is unconstitutionally excessive. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly dissented in part. Malcolm didn't comment.

Struggles of Verizon’s go90 mobile video service to find audience might be due to its "singular focus" on mobile devices, since 79 percent of U.S. internet users have at least two connected devices and most watch video on them, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Wednesday. Video services need to be available on all the their customers' screens, he said. Meanwhile, Verizon indicated it will start incorporating go90-exclusive content into other digital content properties, he said. Verizon didn't comment.

FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny gave a belated shoutout to Consumer Reports in a Tuesday tweet for its cybersecurity efforts with The Digital Standard, announced last week. “Agree -- a step forward in providing consumers with better information & reviews re data privacy and security of #IoT,” McSweeny tweeted. “Thanks @ConsumerReports for starting to take this on!” CR announced the standard Feb. 7, an effort with Disconnect, Ranking Digital Rights, The Cyber Independent Testing Lab and nonprofit tech organization Aspiration, with a goal of helping set expectations for how connected product manufacturers should handle privacy and security (see 1802070046).

Uber will “learn from the past,” blogged CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Friday, after the ride-hailing service’s $245 million settlement with Alphabet's Waymo over allegations of stealing trade secrets for autonomous driving. “While we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber, nor do we believe that Uber has used any of Waymo’s proprietary information in its self-driving technology, we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work.” To Alphabet, Khosrowshahi said: “You are an important investor in Uber, and we share a deep belief in the power of technology to change people’s lives for the better.” The companies are partners and competitors and won’t always agree, said the executive. “We agree that Uber’s acquisition of Otto could and should have been handled differently,” he said of the self-driving company. Self-driving technology is crucial to the future of transportation, he said. Waymo had sought at least $1 billion in damages last year and agreed to a $500 million earlier last week, which was rejected by Uber’s board, Reuters reported.

A key provision in the staff report that led to creating an FCC Office of Economics and Analytics is a line that OEA should “produce a separate, non-public memorandum on economic issues to accompany documents circulated to the Commission,” blogged Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellow Tom Lenard. Commissioners approved creating the office on a 3-2 party-line vote last week (see 1801300026). The plan “is designed to encourage the policy-making Bureaus to include economic considerations throughout the policy development process, while also providing for direct communication of economic views to commissioners,” Lenard wrote. An alternative would be for the FCC to publish a preliminary regulatory impact analysis for every proposed new rule and a final RIA for every issued rule, he said.