The Federal Trade Commission and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office are taking legal action against NGL Labs, LLC and its co-founders, Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo, for multiple violations related to their anonymous messaging app, NGL. The agencies allege that NGL unfairly targeted children and teens and falsely claimed that its AI system would prevent cyberbullying and other harmful messages. As part of the settlement, the defendants will pay $5 million and are banned from offering the app to anyone under 18.
The complaint highlights that NGL actively marketed its app to young users despite knowing the risks of cyberbullying associated with anonymous messaging. It also accuses the company of misleading users with fake messages to increase paid subscriptions and failing to properly disclose recurring charges. Additionally, NGL’s AI moderation claims were found to be deceptive, not effectively filtering out harmful content as promised.
NGL is also charged with violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by failing to obtain parental consent and improperly handling personal data from users under 13. The company is accused of collecting and retaining this data without parental approval and not honoring requests for data deletion.
The proposed order, pending court approval, will require NGL to implement measures to prevent underage access to the app, cease false advertising practices, and make improvements to its data security and subscription management. The settlement aims to protect consumers, particularly children, from deceptive practices and ensure better enforcement of online privacy laws.
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