File-sharing application settles with FTC

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement Tuesday with a file-sharing application that used default settings that exposed photos and videos of its users.

The FTC charged that Frostwire’s default settings misled consumers about which files it shared on its network. As soon as users installed the application, it would publicly share photos, videos and documents stored on the users' computers, according to the FTC. 

 “Once installed, the Frostwire applications allow potentially millions of people throughout the world to copy files from a user’s computer with little or no notice to that user at the time the files are shared,” the FTC found.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said the application compromised the privacy of not only the users of the application, but anyone in users’ pictures and videos.

“Frostwire’s default settings, which were extremely difficult to change, had been automatically revealing private photos and videos taken with users’ phones to other P2P users around the world — in effect turning all its clients into both unwitting paparazzi and unaware paparazzi victims,” Leibowitz said.

Frostwire offers applications for both computers and Android mobile devices.

The FTC’s settlement bars Frostwire from using default settings that share consumers’ files and requires the company to make prominent disclosures about how its files are shared.

— This post was updated at 11:31 a.m.

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