After coming under fire by a consumer watchdog, American Apparel has agreed to settle privacy compliance charges.
On Friday, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, under the agreement, the retailer would be banned from misrepresenting “the extent to which it participated in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government,” or regulatory bodies.
The settlement comes after the FTC charged American Apparel with deceiving consumers, by claiming it complied with the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework, which facilitates the safe transfer of consumer data from the European Union to the U.S.
According to the FTC, which has been aggressively pursuing companies on potential data security compliance infractions, the Los Angeles-based apparel company “deceptively claimed it held current certifications under the U.S.-EU and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor frameworks."
