Court Rules
All enforcement actions
Consent DecreeLow Risk

FTC Bans SpyFone and CEO from Surveillance Business Over Secret Data Harvesting

Support King, LLCSeptember 1, 2021Federal Trade Commission

Summary

The FTC banned Support King, LLC (SpyFone) and its CEO from the surveillance business for secretly harvesting and sharing users' data without consent, and ordered the deletion of all illegally collected data and notification to affected device owners. The company failed to secure the data, leading to a hack that exposed 2,200 consumers.

Remedy

The consent order bans Support King, LLC and Scott Zuckerman from offering or selling surveillance apps, requires them to delete all illegally collected data, and mandates notification to device owners about the secret monitoring.

Consent DecreeBanData DeletionCorrective Notice

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with app developers or surveillance technology providers, as well as any customer or partner agreements where monitoring or data collection services are involved. Specific clauses to scrutinize include those governing data collection consent (ensuring explicit, informed consent is obtained), data sharing and transfer (prohibiting unauthorized sharing), security obligations (requiring robust information security programs and regular assessments), data retention and deletion (mandating timely deletion of collected data upon termination or request), breach notification (requiring prompt reporting of security incidents), and explicit prohibitions against developing, selling, or promoting surveillance or stalkerware applications. Changes may be needed to strengthen consent language, mandate independent security audits, require immediate data deletion upon order termination, and add clear bans on bypassing device security settings.

Contract Search Terms

consent mechanismdata sharing agreementinformation security programdata deletion clausedata retention schedulebreach notification clausesurveillance app restrictionmonitoring software prohibitionthird-party security assessmentdevice owner notification

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Support King, LLC

Also known as: Support King

Industry

Technology

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"Support King, LLC, which did business as SpyFone.com"
Violation Types
"secretly harvested and shared data on people’s physical movements, phone use, and online activities"
Violation Types
"without the device owner’s knowledge"
Violation Types
"GPS locations"
Violation Types
"failed to keep it secure"

Related Enforcement Actions

FTC

Support King, LLC

The FTC finalized an order banning Support King, LLC and its CEO from the surveillance business for selling stalkerware apps that secretly collected and shared users' personal data without consent. The order requires them to delete all illegally collected data and notify affected device owners.

FTC

Lens.com Inc.

The FTC, Utah, and Nevada sued Lens.com Inc., alleging that it advertised artificially low contact lens prices while hiding mandatory checkout charges and misleading consumers about its AutoRefill subscription. The complaint seeks to stop the alleged practices; the court has not yet decided the case, and no penalty or remedy has been imposed.

FTC

Online platforms

The FTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on whether ad-optimization tools offered by online platforms may help scammers impersonate businesses and government agencies. This is a proposed regulatory inquiry, not an enforcement action against a named company; no penalty or remedy was imposed.

FTC

Amazon.com, Inc.

$2.5B

A federal court approved a revised order in the FTC's Amazon Prime case under which Amazon will accelerate and expand redress payments under the September 2025 $2.5 billion settlement, which resolved allegations that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and knowingly made cancellation difficult. More consumers now qualify for refunds, the maximum payment cap rises from $51 to $200, and all future payments will be distributed automatically starting October 1, 2026, with potential supplemental $149 payments by April 2027. Amazon has already issued more than $845 million in redress payments as of September 2026.

FTC

Amway Corp.

$225.0M

The FTC and the state of Washington filed a joint complaint and proposed stipulated order requiring Amway Corp. and two affiliates—World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG) and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD)—to pay a $225 million judgment, the largest monetary recovery ever obtained from an MLM in an FTC action, over allegations that they used deceptive earnings claims and unfair tactics to recruit Independent Business Owners. The complaint alleges the companies falsely promised substantial income and recruitment success, pressured IBOs to buy products they could not resell, and instructed IBOs to falsely report sales. Nearly all of the judgment will be used as redress for IBOs who lost money, and the proposed order imposes structural reforms including a 70% resale requirement, independent audits of sales records, and a ban on approved providers charging new IBOs for first-year training.

FTC

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (now Corpay Inc.)

$100.0M

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (now Corpay Inc.) and its CEO Ronald Clarke agreed to pay $100 million to settle an FTC administrative action alleging the company charged small business customers hidden and unauthorized fees for fuel cards and misrepresented gas savings, fraud-control features, and fees. A federal district court granted the FTC summary judgment on all counts in 2023, and a federal appeals court upheld that judgment and the permanent injunction in 2026. The settlement funds will be used to provide redress to harmed business customers.