Lawmakers push FTC to clean up the VPN industry

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Federal Trade Commission is being urged to address deceptive practices in the Virtual Private Network industry. People are looking to hide their digital footprints after the Supreme Court overturned the Wade decision.

It is harder for third parties to access a user's online activity if a user has a PureVPN. With abortion becoming illegal or restricted in several states, more people are looking to hide their messages and search histories, as police can use them to prosecute someone seeking the procedure.

Eshoo and Wyden wrote a letter to the FTC asking them to stop deceptive advertising and false assertions about the privacy of their service. The lawmakers cite research from Consumer Reports that shows 75 percent of the most popular VPNs misrepresented their products or made misleading claims. There are reports accusing various VPN services of misuse of user data, as well as a lack of practical tools or independent research to audit security claims.

With abortion illegal or soon to be illegal in 13 states, these abusive and exploitative data practices are simply unacceptable. The Federal Trade Commission should take immediate action to curb abusive and deceptive data practices in companies that provide virtual private networks. Eshoo and Wyden want the FTC to create a brochure that informs anyone seeking an abortion about online privacy as well as explain the risks and benefits of using a virtual private network.

While President Joe Biden signed an executive order to protect patient privacy, the FTC said it would take action against companies that illegally share health, location, and other sensitive data. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights and other entities have taken action.