FTC Denies Petition from SpyFone App CEO to Vacate 2021 Order

The Federal Trade Commission has denied a petition from Scott Zuckerman, the CEO of a company that marketed “stalkerware” apps, to vacate or modify the FTC’s 2021 order banning him from offering any monitoring products and services and requiring him to implement an information security program.

In an order denying Zuckerman’s petition, the Commission found he failed to show changed conditions of fact or law sufficient to justify reopening and setting aside the Consent Order.

In its 2021 complaint, the FTC alleged that Zuckerman and Support King, LLC, which did business as SpyFone.com, sold apps that allowed purchasers to secretly monitor devices without device-owner knowledge, put users at risk by requiring them to disable security protections on those devices, and secretly collected and shared data on photos, text messages, web histories, location, and physical movements.

The order, finalized in late 2021, settling the FTC’s allegations bans Support King and Zuckerman from offering, promoting, selling, or advertising any surveillance app, service, or business. It also requires them to develop an information-security program for any business they operate and obtain biennial assessments of that program by a third party and comply with other reporting obligations.

After receiving 27 comments on Zuckerman’s petition, the Commission voted 2-0 to deny the petition and respond to the commenters.