Sony Settles FTC PlayStation Complaint

Sony and its ad agency have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges they deceived consumers with ads for the PlayStation Vita game console and in social media campaigns.

It is the first time the FTC has taken action against a Twitter promotion that failed to disclose the relationship between the Tweeters and the company or ad agency behind the promption.

Sony has agreed not to make any more claims about the "game changing" technology of its hand-held console, according to the FTC.

The commission said the ads ran in late 2011 and early 2012, and that as part of the settlement, Sony will give either a $25 cash or credit refund, or a $50 merchandise voucher to anyone who bought the console before June 1, 2012.

Read more at B&C here

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.