In addition to fining the cybersecurity firm $16.5m for these infractions, the FTC has also issued a proposed order to prevent Avast from re-selling or licensing browser data. The company will also be required to obtain explicit consent from users when Avast wishes to re-sell or license browsing data it has acquired from non-Avast products, delete any web browsing data delivered to Jumpshot, and “inform consumers whose browsing information was sold to third parties without their consent about the FTC’s actions against the company.”

A spokesperson from Avast told Reuters that the company had agreed to pay the fine issued by the FTC and that it had closed Jumpshot in 2020 following a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag. As for the other provisions of the proposed order, they said, the “operational provisions of the settlement are already consistent with Avast’s current privacy and security programs.”