On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (FCC) announced that founder of SpyFone, Scott Zuckerman, asked the commission to put on hold its 2021 spyware prohibition that barred him from the surveillance industry, following a massive data breach associated with his company.
Zuckerman’s appeal challenges a sweeping order that was meant to restrict his future engagement with spyware industry regulation. The order followed backlash from the public over his company’s release of private phone data.
Spyware Creator Wants Back In
In 2021, Scott Zuckerman was banned by the FTC for allowing his business, Support King, to expose thousands of people’s personal data via its SpyFone app, revealing photos, texts, and live location data on the internet, provoking severe criticism for Zuckerman’s spy phone app monitoring.
The FTC also obliged Zuckerman to deploy strong cybersecurity protocols and be audited regularly. Zuckerman currently claims the cost of complying with those regulations is harming his ability to run other businesses, arguing the ban placed an “unnecessary burden” on him, even though watchdog groups say it’s a matter of protecting consumers.
Privacy activists fear that the FTC will water down restrictions on someone who was previously found running a spyware business that uncovered this much personal data.
After the ban, Zuckerman was discovered to be linked to another stalkerware company in 2022. TechCrunch was handed leaked data from a phone-tracking app, SpyTrac. The records showed that it shared similarities with SpyFone, even though the company had been ordered to delete that data.
SpyTrac went dark after TechCrunch spoke to Zuckerman. The connection surprised many on how Zuckerman had tried to avoid FTC spyware enforcement actions.
“There is no doubt that both the ban and the continued reporting requirements are personally burdensome to him, but I would argue that that is the point,” wrote Eva Galperin from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She continued by stating that his record demonstrates that he cannot effectively secure sensitive data.
Galperin urged the FTC to reject the petition. The decision would be a strong test of how the agency operates surveillance operations under its current leadership. The public has until August 19 to submit comments on Zuckerman’s petition.
With SpyFone remaining at the center of Zuckerman’s testimony, critics warn that undoing the restrictions the FTC imposed on spyware could bring more risk to consumers and less certainty regarding digital surveillance tools.
The FTC, which is in Republican majority leadership, has not announced how or when it would rule on the petition. However, many believe that this case is a critical moment for determining the future of SpyFone and the general spyware industry regulation.
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