MyLife

In 2007, MyLife.com received $25 million in venture funding from Oak Investment Partners.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/jailbaitgallery-mylife-facebook-technology-internet-pictures.html#50d81df92f95|title=Recognize That Cute Picture Online?|last=Buley|first=Taylor|date=September 30, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2019|work=Forbes}} The company changed its name from Reunion.com to MyLife.com after merging with the search engine company, Wink, in the fall of 2008.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/02/24/reunioncom-and-wink-morph-into-mylifecom |title=Reunion.com and Wink Morph Into MyLife.com | website=TechCrunch |access-date=October 31, 2013}} According to Tinsley, the company's 2008 revenue was estimated at 52 million dollars with 90% of the firm's revenue coming from paid subscriptions.{{cite web| website=socalTECH.com| date= July 22, 2008 |url=http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_jeff_tinsley_reunion_com/s-0016466.html |title=Interview with Jeff Tinsley, Reunion.com}}

In August 2007, MyLife described its website as the sixth most popular social networking site with 28 million users,{{cite news|work =Business Wire|date= April 16, 2007 | url= http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070416005670&newsLang=en |title=Reunion.com Receives $25M Funding From Oak Investment Partners}} while a 2008 article in the Los Angeles Times criticized the company's "aggressive marketing approach."{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus16apr16,0,6520320.column?page=2 |title=Too much contact at this Reunion |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 31, 2013}} In February 2009 ComScore reported the company's website as having 18.2 million unique visitors that month, and Tech Crunch said it was the fourth-largest social networking website in January 2009.

As of 2009, the company had acquired several smaller companies including Planet Alumni, GoodContacts, HighSchoolAlumni, and MyAddressBook.com. In 2009, Ancestry.com began a data sharing partnership with MyLife.{{cite web |title=Huge new content addition for more recent years |url=http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2009/03/18/huge-new-content-addition-for-more-recent-years |access-date=October 31, 2013 |website=Ancestry.com}}

In 2011, a lawsuit against MyLife said the company was engaging in false advertising practices, similar to what was alleged in a 2008 Classmates.com class-action lawsuit.{{Cite web|url=https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/1333-mylifecom-scam-class-action-lawsuit-moves-ahead/|title=MyLife.com Scam Class Action Lawsuit Moves Ahead|last=Pierce|first=Sarah|date=August 23, 2011|website=Top Class Actions|access-date=5 December 2017}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/02/08/33988.htm|title=Web Scam Reborn as MyLife.com, Class Says |website=Courthouse News Service |access-date=October 31, 2013}} The suit also accused the MyLife of false solicitation by offering monthly memberships and then charging member's credit cards at the annual rate.{{Cite news|publisher=ABC News|date=August 19, 2011 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/mylifecom-people-search-website-sued-scam/story?id=14335481#.T-zwHZFxvcs |title=MyLife.com: People-Searching Website Sued as 'Scam'}} The class action accused MyLife of spamming contacts improperly gathered from the address books of those visiting the site. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's ruling consolidated the 2011 class-action lawsuit with two other fraud class actions against MyLife. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.{{Cite news|url=https://therealdeal.com/la/2017/01/25/reunion-com-founder-seeks-buyer-for-7-5m-bel-air-estate/|title=Reunion.com founder seeks buyer for $7.5M Bel Air estate|last=Hudson|first=Subrina|date=January 25, 2017|work=The Real Deal: Los Angeles Real Estate News|access-date=5 December 2017}}

The Washington State Attorney General's Office began an investigation in 2011 stemming from concerns that the company's TV advertisements may have violated the state's Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practice.{{Cite web |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/boomerconsumer/2012/10/12/mylife-com-agrees-to-tell-consumers-about-charges-automatic-renewal |title=Mylife.com agrees to tell consumers about charges, automatic renewal |website=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=October 31, 2013}} According to state officials, the company resolved the issue by making an "assurance of discontinuance" and paid $28,000 in attorneys' costs and fees.{{Cite web |website=Consumeraffairs.com |date=October 12, 2012 |url=http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2012/10/washington-state-challenges-mylifecom-ads.html |title=Washington State Challenges MyLife.com Ads}}

In 2015, after a joint investigation by the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, the company was again sued, this time for allegedly violating California anti-spam laws. Investigators found that MyLife was tricking consumers into giving the company their personal identifying information, and later their money, through false and misleading ads.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-15 |title=FTC Report Shows Rise in Sophisticated Dark Patterns Designed to Trick and Trap Consumers |url=https://pub360.com/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Federal Trade Commission |language=en}}

MyLife agreed to a court judgment under which it would pay $800,000 in penalties, plus $250,000 in refunds to customers, a ruling referred to as "the first major prosecution of an online business for violations of California's automatic renewal law".{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3624ff89-6931-4917-8b0e-cc5befa256ca|title=Rough life: MyLife.com to pay $1m and face injunction|last=Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP|date=May 1, 2015|website=Lexology|access-date=5 December 2017}} The company also is subject to a permanent injunction that prohibits false advertising and unauthorized credit card charges.{{Cite web |publisher=City of Santa Monica|location=Santa Monica, Calif. |title=MyLife.com to Pay Over $1 Million In Fines and Refunds |access-date=2015-07-04 |url=http://www.smgov.net/Main/News_Tab/MyLife_com_to_Pay_Over_$1_Million_In_Fines_and_Refunds;.aspx}}

In July 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a lawsuit against MyLife and Tinsley.{{cite web |last1=Skiba |first1=Katherine |title=Feds Sue MyLife.com Over Deceptive Practices |url=https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/website-sued-mylife.html |website=aarp.org |access-date=5 August 2021 |date=July 28, 2020}} In the complaint the company is alleged to have violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and used misleading billing and marketing practices. Additionally, the lawsuit mentions that the company deceived consumers with "teaser background reports" which made false claims of information about arrest, criminal, and sex offender records.{{cite web |url=https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/182-3022/mylifecom-inc|title=Cases and Proceedings: MyLife.com, Inc. |publisher=FTC|date=July 27, 2020|access-date=October 29, 2020}}

In October 2021, a judge issued a summary judgement ruling that MyLife engaged in deceptive acts, as well as violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). However, the judge denied the FCRA claim as well as any claim that Tinsley was individually liable.{{cite journal|first=Kristin L.|last=Bryan|url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/federal-court-partially-grants-ftc-summary-judgment-claims-brought-against-mylife|title=Federal Court Partially Grants FTC Summary Judgment on Claims Brought Against MyLife|date=October 26, 2021|access-date=2021-10-26|publisher=National Law Review|volume=9|issue=299}} The company was also banned from engaging in negative option billing as well as implying that someone who has received a traffic violation has a criminal record.{{cite web|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/12/ftc-doj-obtain-ban-negative-option-marketing-21-million-consumers|title=FTC, DOJ Obtain Ban on Negative Option Marketing and $21 Million for Consumers Deceived by Background Report Provider MyLife|date=December 16, 2021|access-date=2021-12-21|publisher=FTC.gov}}

As a result, the court awarded $34 million in consumer reparations. However, due to the MyLife's financial position and inability to pay, Tinsley will pay $5 million and MyLife $16 million.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) rates MyLife as a 'F' with no accreditation {{As of|2025|01|lc=y}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/los-angeles/profile/information-bureaus/mylifecom-inc-1216-13177175|title=BBB Business Review|access-date=June 15, 2022|publisher=Better Business Bureau Los Angeles, Calif}} Formerly, the BBB revoked MyLife's accreditation, initially giving MyLife a rating of D,{{Cite web |title=Mylife.com, Inc. Business Review |website=Better Business Bureau Los Angeles, Calif. |access-date=May 17, 2019 |url=https://www.bbb.org/losangelessiliconvalley/business-reviews/information-bureaus/mylifecom-in-los-angeles-ca-13177175|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329170146/https://www.bbb.org/losangelessiliconvalley/business-reviews/information-bureaus/mylifecom-in-los-angeles-ca-13177175|archive-date=March 29, 2016}} and later an F.{{Cite web |title=Mylife.com, Inc. Business Review |website=Better Business Bureau Los Angeles, Calif. |access-date=May 17, 2019 |url=https://www.bbb.org/losangelessiliconvalley/business-reviews/information-bureaus/mylifecom-in-los-angeles-ca-13177175|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028024811/http://www.bbb.org/losangelessiliconvalley/business-reviews/information-bureaus/mylifecom-in-los-angeles-ca-13177175|archive-date=October 28, 2016}} From 2018 to 2020, the BBB received almost 14,000 complaints about MyLife.{{cite news |last1=Moylan |first1=Martin |title=Suit alleges firm soils reputations, then seeks money to improve them |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/05/07/suit-alleges-firm-soils-reputations-then-seeks-money-to-improve-them |work=MPR News |date=May 7, 2020}}

A key criticism of MyLife relates to being mentioned as the "worst offender" among data brokers for difficulty of "opting out", and for using scare tactics, such as noting "you have criminal or arrest records" to convince people to sign up for a membership to see results.{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Jefferson |title=Your data has been sold to websites like MyLife and WhitePages. Here's how to remove it |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/12/09/how-remove-your-info-sites-like-mylife-spokeo-and-whitepages/2619131001/ |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=USA Today |date=December 9, 2019}} Data brokerage services have long been criticized for profiting off the exploitation of personal data.{{cite web |last1=Waddell |first1=Kaveh |title=How FamilyTreeNow Makes Stalking Easy |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/the-webs-many-search-engines-for-your-personal-information/513323/ |website=The Atlantic |accessdate=31 August 2020 |date=17 January 2017}}

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Category:American social networking websites

Category:Internet properties established in 2002

Category:Privately held companies of the United States

Category:Online person databases

Category:Data brokers