The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has rejected a petition from Scott Zuckerman, CEO of the company behind SpyFone, to overturn or alter a 2021 order that prohibits him from offering monitoring products and services. The order also requires Zuckerman to implement an information security program.
According to the FTC’s decision, Zuckerman did not provide evidence of changed circumstances in fact or law that would justify reopening or setting aside the Consent Order.
In its 2021 complaint, the FTC accused Zuckerman and his company Support King, LLC—operating as SpyFone.com—of selling applications that allowed users to monitor devices without the owner’s knowledge. The complaint stated these actions put users at risk by requiring them to disable device security protections and led to secret collection and sharing of data such as photos, text messages, web histories, locations, and physical movements.
The finalized order from late 2021 permanently bans both Support King and Zuckerman from offering, promoting, selling, or advertising any surveillance-related apps or services. It also mandates they create an information-security program for any business they operate. Additionally, they must have this program independently assessed every two years and fulfill other reporting requirements.
The FTC reported it received 27 public comments on Zuckerman’s petition before voting unanimously (2-0) to deny his request and respond to those who commented.
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