FTC proposes $5M penalty for NGL Labs, founders over COPPA violations
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-07-09T20:26:00
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered anonymous messaging app creator NGL Labs and its two founders to pay $5 million for unfairly marketing to children and falsely claiming artificial intelligence (AI) filtered out bullying messages and threats.
The FTC additionally ordered FTG to stop marketing to children under 18, the agency announced in a press release Tuesday.
Created in 2021 by Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo, the “NGL: ask me anything” app was marketed as a “safe space for teens” and allowed users to receive anonymous messages, including candid and slanderous ones, from friends and contacts. The company engaged in aggressive, coercive marketing tactics toward children, the FTC alleged.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
PremiumFTC sounds alarm on business practices turning into ‘vast surveillance’
The Federal Trade Commission took aim at the business models of some of the world’s largest companies, publishing a years-long study that decried technologies that have created “vast surveillance” networks that expose people to “a host of harms” and violate children’s privacy laws.
-
News BriefFTC wants answers from Mastercard, JPMorgan, others on use of AI to collect data
Eight large companies, including Mastercard and JPMorgan Chase, have been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to provide detailed reports about their possibly secret use of artificial intelligence to track customers and use the information to set prices.
-
News BriefSpongeBob game developer ordered to pay $500K over CCPA, COPPA violations
Popular children’s mobile game developer Tilting Point Media agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations the company illegally collected children’s personal data, a violation under the California Consumer Privacy Act and a federal children’s privacy law.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleFalse Claims Act enforcement themes for 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice touted a record $6.8 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in fiscal year 2025, much of that total stems from prior years’ cases and does not necessarily reflect the administration’s current enforcement direction.
-
ArticleFederal jury convicts former coal executive in Egypt-linked coal FCPA case
A former vice president of an American coal company was convicted by a federal jury for his part in an international bribery and money laundering scheme. The conviction represents an anomoly in the Trump administration’s handling of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases launched under former President Joe Biden.
-
ArticleU.K. financial regulator cuts cases to focus on investigations that achieve results
The U.K. financial regulator has dropped 100 investigations without action over the past three years, but compliance should expect a refocus of resources rather than a retreat from enforcement.