From: Erie Times-News
The Federal Trade Commission approved an agreement that settles charges against a North East company and its use of computer-monitoring technology.
In June, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas P. Agresti approved a consent decree in which North East-based DesignerWare LLC agreed to scale back technology that allowed rent-to-own companies to track the whereabouts of rented computers.
Company owner Tim Kelly, of North East, admitted no wrongdoing and was not required to pay any monetary damages. His company’s software allowed rent-to-own retailers to secretly capture a rental-computer user’s keystrokes and screen images and also take a picture of the user with the computer’s Web camera.
The FTC said Tuesday that software installed on computers captured Social Security numbers, medical records, bank and credit statements and couples engaged in sexual activity. The software was installed so that rental stores could track computers that had been stolen or not returned in time.
The Commission said the consent decree prohibits the company from further illegal spying and from activating any location-tracking software. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.
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