I can’t say I’m surprised, but it’s nice to get some confirmation. Alastair Sharp and Allison Martell of Reuters report that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating Avid Life, parent company of Ashley Madison.
But what is the scope of their investigation. Executives admitted to Reuters that the use of “fembots” is part of the investigation, which makes sense under the FTC’s authority to address deceptive practices. But is FTC also investigating their data security in light of their massive breach? I would hope so. Avid Life executives told Reuters they still don’t know how the breach occurred.
I expect that this investigation will result in a consent order with a whopping monetary component to reimburse consumers who were duped by fembots, but we’ll see in time.