On October 11, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission announced that the effective date for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules on revoking consent for unwanted robocalls and robotexts is set for April 11,...more
On August 8, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced that as a result of a lawsuit, two defendants that allegedly helped operate a purported business opportunity scheme known by several names have agreed to settlements...more
As previously blogged about, here, the Federal Communications Commission recently published the final, single-seller lead generator consent rule (the “Rule”). The Rule amends the definition of “prior express written...more
6/24/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lead Generators ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Written Consent
Advertising agencies are potentially liable to the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive acts or practices, along with their clients.
The FTC will consider numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the extent to...more
6/13/2024
/ Advertising ,
Advertising Substantiation ,
Deceptive Intent ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Misleading Statements ,
Telemarketing ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Third-Party Liability ,
UDAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
As previously blogged about, on March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses and updating the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s recordkeeping...more
Insurance lead generation industry take note because an Illinois federal court recently held that Allstate violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act as a result of the actions of its third party, independent contractors...more
4/16/2024
/ Allstate ,
Class Certification ,
Consent ,
Do Not Call List ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Industry ,
Joinder ,
Lead Generators ,
Liability ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Subcontractors ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing
As blogged about recently, on March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses and updating the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s recordkeeping requirements. ...more
3/27/2024
/ Abusive Acts ,
Audits ,
B2B Transactions ,
Compliance ,
Deceptively Misdescriptive ,
Established Business Relationship ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Lead Generators ,
New Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Telephone Service Providers ,
Training Requirements
On March 5, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it has adopted new rules and codified previously adopted protections that make it simpler for consumers to revoke consent to unwanted robocalls and...more
3/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Call Centers ,
Consent ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lead Generators ,
Opt-Outs ,
Revocation ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
In February 2023, the U.S. Justice Department announced that, together with the Federal Trade Commission, a civil enforcement action had been filed against several corporate and individual defendants for alleged violations of...more
3/11/2024
/ California ,
Consent ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Do Not Call List ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Misrepresentation ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
On March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses and updating the rule’s recordkeeping requirements as a result of developments in technology and...more
3/8/2024
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
B2B Transactions ,
Do Not Call List ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Fraud ,
Global Marketplace ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Robocalling ,
Scams ,
Small Business ,
Technology Sector ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
The Federal Communications Commission has published its new rule designed, in part, to close the lead generator loophole by amending the definition of “prior express written consent” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer...more
1/31/2024
/ Consent ,
FCC ,
Lead Generators ,
New Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Opt-Outs ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages ,
Written Consent
On December 11, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has obtained proposed orders against the operators of a purported wide-ranging scheme known as “The Sales Mentor” that allegedly made millions by falsely...more
1/2/2024
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Deceptively Misdescriptive ,
Endorsements ,
Excessive Fees ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Personal Data ,
Refunds ,
Telemarketing ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Training
On December 13, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules designed to protect consumers from “scam communications” by directly addressing some of the “biggest vulnerabilities” in America’s robotext...more
One of the key issues relating to the NPRM pertains to consent being sent directly to/obtained by one seller at a time.
The FCC has now circulated its proposed rule. It has not been adopted yet but it looks like it will be...more
11/27/2023
/ Consent ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Lead Generators ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Proposed Rules ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages ,
Unsolicited Advertisements
On September 1, 2023, an Illinois federal court ruled in the matter of Federal Trade Commission v. Day Pacer LLC, et al. (N.D. Ill. Sept. 1, 2023) that Day Pacer (f/k/a EduTrek) and company executives violated the...more
9/14/2023
/ Antitrust Violations ,
CID ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Information ,
Do Not Call List ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Lead Generators ,
Partial Summary Judgments ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Unconstitutional Condition ,
VoIP
As previously blogged about here, the FCC recently proposed a rule that would turn the lead generation on its head. The proposed new rule goes quite a bit further than simply requiring wireless carriers to block texts from...more
In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced “Operations Donate with Honor,” as law enforcers united to challenge deceptive fundraising.
At the time, 54 Attorneys General from all 50 states, the District of Columbia,...more
5/15/2023
/ Charitable Donations ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Fundraisers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Sham Transactions ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
In April 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a number of consumer protection actions and inquiries involving an important U.S. Supreme Court Ruling regarding the ability of defendants in FTC and SEC actions to raise...more
4/24/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Advertising Substantiation ,
Automatic Renewals ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Counterfeiting ,
Credit Cards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Homeopathic Remedies ,
Investigations ,
Misleading Statements ,
Opioid ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Penalties ,
Robocalling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Subscription Services ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Telemarketing ,
VoIP
In March 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a number of consumer protection actions involving data privacy, COVID health claims, a robocall debt relief pitch scheme, and alleged harmful noncompete restrictions. The...more
3/20/2023
/ Consumer Protection Laws ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act ,
Data Privacy ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC Act ,
LGBTQ ,
Mental Health ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Penalties ,
PHI ,
Popular ,
Robocalling ,
Social Media ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
Lead generators beware. The FTC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would turn the lead generation industry on its head.
Amongst numerous items currently on the FCC’s agenda, there is discussion on closing the...more
In December 2022, the FCC’s Robocall Response Team announced that the Enforcement Bureau has ordered telecommunications companies to stop carrying robocalls related to known student loan scams. Voice service providers must...more
On December 6, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation intended to crack down on unwanted telemarketing calls.
Legislation (S.8450-B/A.8319-C) requires telemarketers to give customers the option to...more