Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted an event to look at kids’ digital marketing. Here is a rough transcript; and if you have a spare five hours, you can watch the videos, which will soon be posted on the...more
IDAC to Ed Tech: Get Your Act Together -
Post-COVID-19 learning app boom puts kids at risk, watchdogs say -
An Embarrassment of Horrors -
As if school-age children didn’t have enough to worry about.
From the...more
9/26/2022
/ Advertising ,
Auto-Renewal ,
Class Action ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Marketing ,
Online Advertisements ,
Students ,
Subscription Services ,
Technology ,
Testimonial Statements
A few weeks ago, we wrote about an interesting development in what had been a fairly standard Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Made in the USA (MUSA) settlement. In short, the company had some major beef with the FTC’s...more
For some time now, dark patterns have been quite the trending topic for both marketers and privacy professionals. Regulators have frequently railed against dark patterns that purport to manipulate user choices, usually...more
9/20/2022
/ Advertising ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deceptive Intent ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
First Amendment ,
Internet Marketing ,
Marketing ,
Online Advertisements ,
Privacy Settings ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Website Design
After a surprise three-month hiatus, we are back in business with our Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) public and totally unscripted meetings. Candidly, we were a bit surprised to see the return of these...more
2022 continues to be the Year of the Review for consumer protection law enforcers. We have seen several cases already this year, and the latest suit has the added bonus of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) teaming up...more
Because I’m someone who is inherently suspicious, my antennae perked up the other Friday when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual strategic planning documents. Friday releases in the summer always...more
CSPI to FDA: Move to the Front!
Watchdog barks at industry efforts to highlight nutrition facts -
Gesundheit FOPNL. It’s sweeping the globe. What is it, you ask? A new government agency? An awful skin condition? A...more
9/2/2022
/ Advertising ,
Children's Products ,
COPPA ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Influencers ,
Lanham Act ,
Made in the USA ,
Masks ,
Mobile Apps ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Personal Information ,
Product Labels ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
P.T. Barnum famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Oscar Wilde, however, gave that quote his own spin and said, “There’s only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being...more
8/30/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Made in the USA ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Misrepresentation ,
Neither Admit Nor Deny Settlements ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Press Releases ,
Product Labels ,
Public Agencies ,
Settlement
A recent federal court decision found that FleetCor, a company that sells fuel card services to businesses, and its CEO had violated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) Act through a series of deceptive...more
8/17/2022
/ Administrative Procedure ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
CEOs ,
Disclaimers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Personal Liability ,
Rebates ,
Section 9 ,
Stays ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
FCC Slams American Scammers for 8 Billion Robocalls -
With too many calls to document, carriers are ordered to pull the switch on traffic -
One Robo to Call Them All -
What sort of activity earns a court order, a public...more
8/16/2022
/ Advertising ,
Class Action ,
Divorce ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
False Advertising ,
Fashion Industry ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Greenwashing ,
H&M ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Military Service Members ,
Robocalling ,
Scams ,
Social Networks ,
Spoofing ,
State Attorneys General ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Veterans
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was initiating a rulemaking to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security.” More specifically, the agency issued an...more
A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit and settlement with Opendoor Labs Inc. (Opendoor) is a must-read even if you are not in the real estate business. But if you don’t want to actually read it, we’ve got you...more
Will Coppertone Get Burned for Its Labels?
Consumer class action alleges sunscreens are all the same -
It’s Not Much, But It’s Something -
Through the years, Coppertone - the sun protection products brand owned...more
8/3/2022
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Class Action ,
Confidential Information ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Branding ,
Do Not Call List ,
False Advertising ,
Logos ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Apps ,
Product Labels ,
Product Packaging ,
Standing ,
Subscription Services ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition ,
YouTube
Most of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) law enforcement actions involving payment processors have exclusively focused on allegations that processors did not do sufficient due diligence before onboarding questionable...more
8/2/2022
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Merchants ,
Misrepresentation ,
Payment Processors ,
ROSCA ,
Small Business ,
Transaction Fees
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that the agencies had entered into a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The FTC press release touted the MOU as a big...more
TINA Investigation Sours on HelloFresh -
America’s #1 food-box provider is deploying dark patterns, says watchdog -
See-Through?
When it comes to ingredients and suppliers, HelloFresh is all about disclosure....more
7/15/2022
/ Advertising ,
Data Privacy ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Incentives ,
License Renewals ,
Loss of Goodwill ,
Material Disclosures ,
NAD ,
Natural Products ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Transparency ,
Web Browsers
“Right to repair” is a consumer protection issue that is rapidly picking up steam. In addition to federal legislation that was introduced in 2022, there has been quite a lot of recent state legislative activity. And we have...more
After the Supreme Court held that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could no longer use Section 13(b) of the FTC Act to seek equitable monetary relief in federal court, the agency quickly ransacked the sofa, seeking spare...more
It has been two weeks or so since the FTC announced that it is going to take a close look at whether and how to revise the Dot com Disclosure Guides. For those who are new to this, the dot com guides (technically and...more
It has been just over one year since Lina Khan was confirmed by the Senate and designated Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair by the president. At the outset of her tenure, she had a Democratic majority, which ended in...more
No More Social Fix for Cali Kids?
New state bill targets social media addiction -
Vertigo 2.0 -
There’s a tidal wave of anger against social media. And every time it seems to crest, another swell comes up from...more
6/17/2022
/ Advertising ,
Advertising to Minors ,
Case Consolidation ,
Class Action ,
FCC ,
Foreign Entities ,
Internet Retailers ,
Minors ,
Mobile Apps ,
NAD ,
New Rules ,
Online Platforms ,
Pricing ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retailers ,
Robocalling ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Social Media ,
Spoofing ,
Telecommunications ,
Telephone Service Providers ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
We spend many of our working hours – and far too many of our nonworking hours - talking about Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) issues, and we can confidently state that no one has ever said to us, “I sure do wish...more
6/17/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
COPPA ,
Discrimination ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hate Crimes ,
Information Reports ,
Policy Statement ,
Public Meetings ,
Racial Bias ,
Scams
Plaintiffs’ bar goes after Ricola for promoting inactive ingredients -
Please Ignore This Section if You Are Easily Annoyed -
Let’s unpack, for just a moment, one of the most oft-cited television commercials of all...more
6/3/2022
/ Advertising ,
Alternative Medicine ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Class Action ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
For Profit Education ,
Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
Misleading Statements ,
NAD ,
Natural Products ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Puffery ,
Zillow
On May 23, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the prompting of President Joe Biden, announced that it will launch a civil investigation into the ongoing shortage of baby formula throughout the country. The FTC is...more