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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAshleyMadison website now under federal FTC investigation
TORONTO (Reuters) - The parent company of infidelity dating site Ashley Madison, hit by a devastating hack last year, is now the target of a U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation, the new executives seeking to revive its credibility told Reuters.
The breach, which exposed the personal details of millions who signed up for the site with the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", cost Avid Life Media more than a quarter of its revenue, Chief Executive Rob Segal and President James Millership revealed in an interview, the first by any senior executive since the incident.
"We are profoundly sorry," said Segal, adding that more could perhaps have been spent on security.
The two executives, hired in April, said the closely held company is spending millions to improve security and looking at payment options that offer more privacy.
But it faces a mountain of problems, including U.S. and Canadian class action lawsuits filed on behalf of customers whose personal information was posted online, and allegations that it used fake profiles to manipulate some customers. The site's male-to-female user ratio is five to one, the executives said.
An Ernst & Young report commissioned by Avid and shared with Reuters confirmed that Avid used computer programs, dubbed fembots, that impersonated real women, striking up conversations with paying male customers.
Avid shut down the fake profiles in the United States, Canada and Australia in 2014, and by late 2015 in the rest of the world, but some U.S. users had message exchanges with foreign fembots until late in 2015, according to the report.
The breach, which exposed the personal details of millions who signed up for the site with the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", cost Avid Life Media more than a quarter of its revenue, Chief Executive Rob Segal and President James Millership revealed in an interview, the first by any senior executive since the incident.
"We are profoundly sorry," said Segal, adding that more could perhaps have been spent on security.
The two executives, hired in April, said the closely held company is spending millions to improve security and looking at payment options that offer more privacy.
But it faces a mountain of problems, including U.S. and Canadian class action lawsuits filed on behalf of customers whose personal information was posted online, and allegations that it used fake profiles to manipulate some customers. The site's male-to-female user ratio is five to one, the executives said.
An Ernst & Young report commissioned by Avid and shared with Reuters confirmed that Avid used computer programs, dubbed fembots, that impersonated real women, striking up conversations with paying male customers.
Avid shut down the fake profiles in the United States, Canada and Australia in 2014, and by late 2015 in the rest of the world, but some U.S. users had message exchanges with foreign fembots until late in 2015, according to the report.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-infidelity-website-ashley-madison-facing-ftc-probe-041011192--finance.html
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AshleyMadison website now under federal FTC investigation (Original Post)
davidn3600
Jul 2016
OP
Orrex
(63,297 posts)1. Is that the snack cake company?
Javaman
(62,540 posts)3. no, it's Dolly's questionable sister.
Dolly made the cakes and Ashely, um "sold" them.
Orrex
(63,297 posts)4. I thought Dolly was the cloned sheep?
I'm so confused.
Javaman
(62,540 posts)6. A very talented sheep. nt
Orrex
(63,297 posts)7. Ewe can do it!
drm604
(16,230 posts)2. They need to investigate just about every dating site on the web.
Fake female profiles by scammers are rampant.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)5. LOL, I'm sure they'll get some resources right on that :)
drm604
(16,230 posts)9. Well of course, I was speaking tounge in cheek.
But it is a real problem.
monmouth4
(9,720 posts)8. Yah, that "Christian Singles" group looks very shady and iffy...LOL..n/t