The Federal Trade Commission’s slate of tech lawsuits in 2025 and 2026 spans a losing antitrust fight against Meta now on appeal, a $2.5 billion Amazon Prime settlement paying out through 2026 alongside a separate antitrust trial delayed to 2027, a finalized loss on Microsoft’s Activision deal, and a growing pile of newer actions on artificial intelligence marketing, connected-car data, and children’s online safety. Under Chair Andrew Ferguson, who took office in January 2025, the agency has kept many inherited cases moving while narrowing others and opening a new front against deceptive AI claims. Here is where the major matters stand.
Meta Antitrust: FTC Appeals After November 2025 Loss
The FTC’s monopolization case against Meta collapsed at trial. On November 2025, Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Meta did not illegally monopolize personal social networking through its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions. The court found the agency failed to show “current” or “imminent” harm and rejected its market definition as outdated, ruling that TikTok and YouTube belonged in the relevant market. Once those competitors were counted, Meta’s share fell below 50%.1Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. FTC Loses Retroactive Merger Challenge
The FTC filed a notice of appeal on January 20, 2026, arguing Meta has “illegally maintained a monopoly in personal social networking services” for over a decade by buying its most significant competitive threats.2Federal Trade Commission. FTC Appeals Ruling in Meta Monopolization Case The case is before the D.C. Circuit. The FTC filed its opening brief on May 22, 2026, Meta’s response is due August 20, 2026, and final briefs are due in October. More than two dozen state attorneys general have filed amicus briefs supporting the FTC.3CourtListener. FTC v. Meta Platforms, Inc. No oral argument date has been set.
Amazon: $2.5 Billion Prime Settlement Paying Out, Antitrust Trial Set for 2027
Two separate Amazon matters are running on separate tracks. The first was resolved in September 2025, when Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive “dark patterns” to enroll consumers in Amazon Prime without consent and made cancellation unnecessarily difficult. The deal broke down into $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in refunds for roughly 35 million affected customers. Amazon did not admit wrongdoing.4Federal Trade Commission. FTC Secures Historic $2.5 Billion Settlement Against Amazon
Automatic refunds went out in late 2025. A claims process for remaining eligible customers opened in January 2026. Customers who signed up for Prime between June 2019 and June 2025 and either struggled to cancel or were enrolled through a “challenged enrollment flow” may be eligible for up to $51.5Federal Trade Commission. Amazon Refunds The second-phase claims deadline is July 27, 2026, with payments expected by September 2026.6USA Today. Amazon Prime FTC Settlement Lawsuit Sign Up
The FTC’s broader antitrust case against Amazon, filed in September 2023, is still alive. It alleges illegal monopoly maintenance through practices such as price parity clauses and self-preferencing. A bench trial is now scheduled to begin on February 9, 2027, after Amazon lost its effort to hold the earlier October 2026 date.7MLex. Amazon Loses Bid to Keep October 2026 Trial Date for US FTC Antitrust Case
Microsoft-Activision: Ninth Circuit Ends the Case
The FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition is over. On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s refusal to block the deal, finding the FTC failed to show a “reasonable probability” that the merger would substantially lessen competition in console gaming, library subscription services, or cloud streaming. The merger had already closed in October 2023, with Activision Blizzard divesting cloud-streaming rights outside the European Economic Area to Ubisoft for 15 years to satisfy UK regulators.8U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. FTC v. Microsoft Corporation, No. 23-15992
A Note on Google
The Google search and ad-tech antitrust cases are often grouped with FTC tech news, but they are Justice Department cases, not FTC ones. Judge Amit Mehta’s September 2, 2025 remedies order in the search case banned exclusive default search contracts for six years, required Google to share search index and user-interaction data with rivals, and imposed ad auction transparency measures, while declining to force divestiture of Chrome or Android. Both Google and the DOJ (joined by 38 states) have appealed.9U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Wins Significant Remedies Against Google10Tech Insider. Google Antitrust Appeal DOJ Search Monopoly
AI Marketing: New Settlements and a Notable Reversal
Cox Media Group “Active Listening”
On May 21, 2026, the FTC announced a $930,000 settlement with Cox Media Group (CMG), MindSift LLC, and 1010 Digital Works LLC over their “Active Listening” advertising service. The companies marketed a service that supposedly used AI to capture consumer conversations through smart device microphones and deliver hyper-targeted ads. The FTC alleged the service collected no voice data at all; the companies were reselling email lists purchased from data brokers at a markup.11Federal Trade Commission. FTC to Require Cox Media Group, Two Other Firms to Pay Nearly $1 Million to Settle Charges They Deceived CMG will pay $880,000; MindSift and 1010 Digital Works will pay $25,000 each. All three are subject to 20-year monitoring.12Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC. The FTC’s Active Listening Settlements: Lessons on AI Marketing, Consent and Voice Data
Air AI
In March 2026, the FTC settled charges against Air AI and owners Caleb Maddix, Ryan O’Donnell, and Thomas Lancer, permanently banning them from selling or marketing any business opportunity. The FTC alleged the company took roughly $19 million from small businesses through false earnings promises and refund guarantees.13Federal Trade Commission. Air AI, Its Owners Will Be Banned From Marketing Business Opportunities to Settle FTC Charges Company Misled The settlement includes an $18 million judgment, largely suspended because the defendants cannot pay. They were ordered to pay $50,000 for consumer relief.14CFO Dive. AI Startup Settles FTC Deception Charges
Rytr Order Vacated
In December 2025, the FTC voted unanimously to vacate a 2024 consent order against Rytr LLC, an AI writing assistant the agency had banned from generating consumer reviews or testimonials. The agency concluded the original complaint had failed to adequately allege a violation and that the ban “unduly burdens artificial intelligence innovation,” citing the Trump administration’s January 2025 AI executive order and the July 2025 “America’s AI Action Plan.” FTC consumer protection director Christopher Mufarrige said, “Condemning a technology or service simply because it potentially could be used in a problematic manner is inconsistent with the law and ordered liberty.”15Federal Trade Commission. FTC Reopens, Sets Aside Rytr Final Order in Response to Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan Going forward, the agency has said it will target actors that use AI to commit fraud, rather than tools that could hypothetically be misused.
Privacy and Children’s Safety
GM and OnStar
In January 2026, the FTC finalized a consent order against General Motors and its OnStar subsidiary for collecting and selling drivers’ precise geolocation and driving behavior data without informed consent. The 20-year order requires GM to obtain affirmative consent before collecting or sharing connected vehicle data and imposes a five-year ban on disclosing that data to consumer reporting agencies. There was no monetary penalty, but GM must give consumers tools to access, delete, and opt out of data collection.16Federal Trade Commission. FTC Finalizes Order Settling Allegations GM OnStar Collected, Sold Geolocation Data Without Consumers’ Consent
Illuminate Education
In June 2026, the FTC gave final approval to a consent order against Illuminate Education, an edtech company whose security failures led to the exposure of personal data belonging to 10.1 million students in a December 2021 cyberattack. The FTC alleged Illuminate had been warned about security vulnerabilities nearly two years before the breach, failed to act, and delayed notifying schools, with some districts not learning of the breach for two years.17StateScoop. FTC Orders Illuminate Education to Bolster Data Security After Breach Impacting 10M Students The order carries no monetary penalty but requires a comprehensive data security program, data minimization, and a public data retention schedule.18Federal Trade Commission. FTC Gives Final Approval to Order Against Illuminate Settling Allegations It Failed to Secure Students’ Data
NGL Labs
The FTC and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office settled charges against anonymous messaging app NGL Labs for $4.5 million. The agency alleged NGL sent fake computer-generated messages that appeared to come from real people to trick users into buying subscriptions, falsely promising that paying for NGL Pro would reveal senders. Users were charged recurring weekly fees of up to $9.99 without clear consent.19Federal Trade Commission. NGL Settlement The settlement bans NGL from marketing anonymous messaging apps to anyone under 18. The refund claims deadline was April 6, 2026, with payments expected later in the year.20Federal Trade Commission. FTC Announces Refund Claims Process for NGL Users Affected by Deceptive Tactics, Unauthorized Charges
Disney COPPA Penalty
A federal judge approved an order in December 2025 requiring Disney to pay $10 million for collecting data from children on YouTube without parental consent, in violation of COPPA.21Federal Trade Commission. Technology
Updated COPPA Rule and Take It Down Act
The FTC finalized COPPA rule amendments in January 2025, expanding the definition of “personal information” to include biometric and government-issued identifiers, adding data retention limits, and requiring separate parental consent before sharing children’s data with third parties for targeted advertising. The compliance deadline was April 22, 2026.22Federal Trade Commission. FTC Finalizes Changes to Children’s Privacy Rule Limiting Companies’ Ability to Monetize Kids’ Data Ferguson has told the Senate Commerce Committee that COPPA enforcement is a “principle priority” in the FTC’s 2026–2030 strategic plan.23Bloomberg Law. Companies Face New Enforcement Risks Under Kids Privacy Update
The FTC also began enforcing the Take It Down Act on May 19, 2026. The law requires platforms hosting user-generated content to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request.24Federal Trade Commission. FTC Begins Enforcing Take It Down Act The day after the deadline, the FTC sent warning letters to 12 companies offering “nudify” tools, stating they appeared to be in violation for lacking a removal process. Potential penalties run up to $53,088 per violation.25Federal Trade Commission. FTC Sends Warning Letters to Companies About Compliance With Take It Down Act
How the Ferguson FTC Enforces Differently
The current FTC’s tech docket reflects a different enforcement philosophy than the agency under former Chair Lina Khan. Ferguson has emphasized “predictability” for businesses and case-by-case enforcement over sweeping bans.21Federal Trade Commission. Technology The abandoned noncompete rule illustrates the shift: after federal courts blocked the FTC’s blanket ban in August 2024, the agency dropped its appeals in September 2025 and moved to targeting anticompetitive agreements one at a time.26American Physical Therapy Association. FTC Drops Legal Appeals, Abandons Noncompete Rule
On AI, the direction is the same. The Rytr reversal signaled a preference for going after actual fraud rather than restricting the technology itself. A December 2025 executive order directed the FTC to issue guidance on when state AI laws may be preempted by federal policy and established a DOJ task force to challenge state AI regulations deemed inconsistent with federal goals.27The White House. Eliminating State Law Obstruction of National Artificial Intelligence Policy That posture leaves the biggest inherited antitrust fights, Meta most of all, as the tests of what the agency can still win in court.