Hopper Travel App to Pay $35 Million in FTC Settlement Over Hidden Fee Practices
The Federal Trade Commission has reached a $35 million settlement with travel app Hopper over allegations that the company used deceptive design practices to charge consumers hidden fees.
According to the FTC, Hopper employed so-called "dark patterns" — user interface designs that manipulate customers into making decisions they might not otherwise make — to obscure additional charges and misrepresent the true cost of travel services. These practices allegedly misled travelers about both the prices and benefits of services offered through the platform.
The settlement requires Hopper to pay $35 million and implement changes to its billing and disclosure practices to provide clearer information to consumers about total costs.