Notice2022-19108
Credit Karma, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement-- that would settle these allegations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 171 (Tuesday, September 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54505-54506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19108]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 202 3138]
Credit Karma, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid
Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint
and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Please write ``Credit Karma,
LLC, LLC; File No. 202 3138'' on your comment and file your comment
online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, please
mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission,
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610
(Annex D), Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evan Zullow (202-326-2914), Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of 30 days. The following
Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent
agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of
the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained at
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions</a>.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 6, 2022.
Write ``Credit Karma, LLC; File No. 202 3138'' on your comment. Your
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable,
on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Because of heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to
the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly encourage you to
submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Credit Karma,
LLC; File No. 202 3138'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex D),
Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include sensitive
personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security
number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including competitively sensitive information such
as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website--as legally
required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment
from that website, unless you submit a confidentiality request that
meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and
the General Counsel grants that request.
[[Page 54506]]
Visit the FTC website at <a href="https://www.ftc.gov">https://www.ftc.gov</a> to read this document
and the news release describing the proposed settlement. The FTC Act
and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of
public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate.
The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments
that it receives on or before October 6, 2022. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent
order from Credit Karma, LLC (``Respondent''). The proposed consent
order has been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of
comments from interested persons. Comments received during this period
will become part of the public record. After 30 days, the Commission
will again review the agreement and the comments received and will
decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement or make final the
agreement's proposed order.
This matter involves Respondent's advertisements and
recommendations for third-party financial products. According to the
complaint, between February 2018 and April 2021, through its website,
mobile app, and email marketing campaigns, Respondent has represented
in advertisements and recommendations that consumers have been ``pre-
approved'' for third-party financial products, such as credit cards.
Despite these preapproval claims, financial product companies have not
already approved these consumers. In fact, as alleged in the complaint,
for many of these offers, almost a third of consumers who received and
applied for ``pre-approved'' offers were subsequently denied based on
the financial product companies' underwriting review. The complaint
further alleges that Respondent knew that its prominent pre-approval
claims conveyed false ``certainty'' to consumers and employed it
deliberately to influence consumers' behavior. To the extent Respondent
revealed that consumers' likelihood of getting approval was anything
less than certain, it has done so by making additional false claims
that consumers' likelihood of approval is 90%, or by using buried
disclaimers.
The proposed consent order contains provisions designed to prevent
Respondent from making deceptive claims about approval, pre-approval,
or consumers' approval likelihood or odds in the future. Part I
prohibits misleading or unsubstantiated claims about approval,
including pre-approval, as well as a consumer's odds or likelihood of
being approved. Part II requires Respondent to pay $3,000,000 in
monetary relief. Part III contains additional requirements regarding
the monetary relief. Part IV requires Respondent to provide sufficient
customer information to enable the Commission to administer consumer
redress.
Parts V through VI are reporting and compliance provisions. Part V
requires Respondent to acknowledge receipt of the order, to provide a
copy of the order to certain current and future principals, officers,
directors, and employees, and to obtain an acknowledgement from each
such person that they have received a copy of the order. Part VI
requires Respondents to file a compliance report within one year after
the order becomes final and to notify the Commission within 14 days of
certain changes that would affect compliance with the order. Part VII
requires Respondent to maintain certain records, including records
necessary to demonstrate compliance with the order. Part VIII requires
Respondents to submit additional compliance reports when requested by
the Commission and to permit the Commission or its representatives to
interview Respondents' personnel.
Finally, Part IX is a ``sunset'' provision, terminating the order
after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the proposed order or to modify its terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Joel Christie,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-19108 Filed 9-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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