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April 12th, 2013
HTC Settles FTC Device Security Charges
In February 2013, HTC America, Inc. ("HTC"), one of America's biggest sellers of mobile devices based on the Android, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems, settled Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") charges that millions of its smartphones and tablets had security holes that allowed malicious applications to send text messages, record audio, and even install additional malware onto a consumer's HTC device, without users' knowledge or permission.
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that malware placed on HTC devices could record and transmit information entered into or stored on HTC devices, including financial account numbers and related access codes or personal identification numbers, medical information, photos, a user's geolocation, and the contents of the user's text messages. The complaint also alleged that user manuals for HTC Android-based devices contained deceptive statements, and that the company's Tell HTC application -- anerror-reporting tool that enabled users to report a system crash -- submitted users' location information without their permission or knowledge.
The settlement requires HTC to develop and release patches to fix these vulnerabilities, to establish a program to address security risks that become apparent during the development of HTC devices, and to undergo independent security assessments every other year until 2033. The settlement also prohibits HTC from making any false or misleading statements about the security and privacy of consumers' data on HTC devices.
This settlement comes only ten weeks after the FTC released Mobile App Developers: Start with Security, a brochure on app security for the mobile business ecosystem. The settlement and release of this FTC brochure underscore the importance of having transparent privacy disclosures and secure data environments and devices.
Read full case timeline - "In the Matter of HTC America Inc.".
Read full FTC press release - "Mobile App Developers: Start with Security".
If you have questions about this news, or about any other technology law issues, please contact S. Gregory Boyd at (212) 826 5581 or gboyd@fkks.com, Hannah Taylor at (212) 705 4849 or htaylor@fkks.com, Claudine Wilson at (212) 705 4842 or cwilson@fkks.com, or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Technology, Digital Media and Privacy Group.
Other Technology Law Alerts
‘Spectacularly Transformative’ — and Still Liable: The AI Copyright Showdown Begins
In the first federal court ruling on whether training generative AI models with copyrighted materials constitutes fair use, U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued a mixed but monumental decision on June 24, 2025, in Bartz et al. v. Anthropic PBC (N.D. Cal., No. 24-05417 WHA). The judge hailed Anthropic’s Claude model as “among the most transformative many of us will see in our lifetimes,” noting its ability to mimic human reasoning and writing by processing millions of digitized texts. He found that the use of copyrighted books to train such models was “spectacularly transformative,” stating that the LLMs “trained upon works not to race ahead and replicate or supplant them — but to turn a hard corner and create something different.” Read more.
June 26 2025
Risky Business Just Got Riskier - DOJ Changes Stance on Internet Gambling
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) made waves in the online gambling industry with an Opinion interpreting the Wire Act (18 U.S.C. § 1084). In the Opinion, DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel concluded that most sections of the Wire Act are not limited to sports-related wagers and instead prohibit the use of interstate wires for any bets or wagers. Read more.
January 23 2019
Video Games With Advanced Communications Services Must Now Be Accessible to Players With Disabilities
An important legal waiver recently expired and as a result, video game developers and publishers must now ensure that new and substantially upgraded games comply with the accessibility requirements of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (“CVAA”). Read more.
January 7 2019
