Tapjoy Deceived Consumers on Rewards, FTC Alleges in Settlement

Tapjoy duped consumers and failed to provide promised in-game rewards, the FTC alleged in a 5-0 settlement Thursday. The mobile ad company is “prohibited from misleading users” about rewards and “must monitor” third-party ad partners to “ensure they do what is necessary to enable Tapjoy to deliver promised rewards to consumers.” There was no monetary penalty, but the company faces fines up to $43,280 for subsequent violations of the consent order. “The settlement proposed today should help reverse the lax policing practices that led hundreds of thousands of gamers to file complaints,” said Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter: The agency must address “deeper structural problems” and should continue to scrutinize ad middlemen and app stores. An attorney for the company didn’t comment.