Companies that care about avoiding Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action should take heed. Last month, the FTC announced an $8.5 million settlement with Care.com, resolving claims challenging its advertising claims and...more
A federal judge in Seattle has ruled against Amazon in its bid to have a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit dismissed that alleges the online retailer used deceptive “dark patterns” practices to enroll customers in Prime...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made clear its focus on automatic renewal programs with high-profile lawsuits in recent weeks, alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA). Below are some...more
The California legislature recently renewed its efforts to regulate automatic renewal programs with proposed amendments to its Automatic Renewal Law (ARL). This development does not follow any lack of attention to this area...more
Last month, the New York AG filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio, alleging that the company “sells subscriptions that are easy to purchase, and extremely difficult to cancel.” Consumers who want to cancel their...more
On December 20, 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a Petition in state court alleging Sirius XM Radio’s autorenewal practices violated New York’s autorenewal law. In the lawsuit, New York alleges that Sirius...more
The recent suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) represents the latest guidance in the rapidly evolving patchwork of federal and state laws that govern online subscription models. Any company offering subscription...more
On March 23, the Federal Trade Commission announced proposed changes to its Negative Option Rule. This latest announcement appears to be another move by the Commission in its recent flurry of activities to ramp up its...more
On March 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”) seeking comment on proposed amendments to the Commission’s Negative Option Rule. The proposed...more
Mornings for advertising lawyers usually start slow – coffee in one hand and phone in the other while we glance at emails. Imagine our surprise the other morning when we saw that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had issued...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it has stopped internet phone service provider Vonage from allegedly imposing junk fees and creating obstacles to those that try to cancel their service. According to the...more
For years, the Federal Trade Commission has aggressively enforced the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act against digital marketers that offer Internet-based automatic renewals and subscriptions. In short, ROSCA requires...more
"Now or never." "Don't delay." "No-fee sign-up." "No registration required." "Free 30-day trial." Such advertising messages can be deceptive when they—as it seems they all too often do—send consumers down a rabbit hole where...more
Businesses that allow customers to sign up for automatically renewing subscriptions must comply with a patchwork of state and federal regulations. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued an Enforcement Policy...more
Earlier this year, we blogged about the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG v. FTC, which significantly curtailed the FTC’s ability to seek monetary restitution under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. One quick update there: The...more
We used to think of subscriptions as mostly for newspapers and magazines, but today you can subscribe to get cosmetics, cars, clothes, mental health counseling – even a curated selection of cat toys and treats that will show...more