At last week’s public Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting, the commissioners unanimously voted for possible changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). Given the intense interest in FTC rulemaking and the important role...more
A recent survey of FTC employees put forward some interesting numbers. In 2020, FTC staff were asked if their senior leaders “maintain high standards of honesty and integrity” and 87 percent answered positively....more
We’re all familiar with the promise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Businesses are exploring uses for them from video games to concert tickets, and there is a burgeoning marketplace that includes art, music, collectibles and...more
4/29/2022
/ Advertising ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Misleading Statements ,
Negligence ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Product Labels ,
Security Breach
We made it to the 11th public commission meeting. Now, one person who didn’t make it to the meeting today (or at least did not appear on the main screen) was Alvaro Bedoya. We had heard that his confirmation vote to become...more
Whether you are an FTC fan or foe, we can all agree that one of the agency’s crown jewels is its consumer and business education program. For decades, this program has provided information that has helped consumers protect...more
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a new rule (Rule) that would allow the agency to seek civil penalties in matters where a company made a false and unqualified Made in the USA (MUSA) claim on product...more
Trade Secret Case Unravels Unequal Fashion Partnership -
Small designer Mrinalini accuses fashion giant Valentino of spying, stealing and worse.
The Royal She -
In high fashion, creative output is the whole game -...more
4/15/2022
/ Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Conversion ,
Copyright ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Labeling ,
Lanham Act ,
Misappropriation ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Product Labels ,
Robocalling ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unjust Enrichment
What do bamboo fabric and green claims have to do with toys, weight loss, car rentals and fur coats? Sounds like the start of a Dad joke, but unfortunately this is no laughing matter. It is the FTC reaching back to bygone...more
The title of this series is an homage to the great Lesley Fair, who launched and authors many of the best of the FTC’s business blogs and who coined this term in her blog reviewing 2013 cases on the same topic. But we are...more
Not many people enjoy sitting in a car dealership spending hours evaluating or making a costly purchase, but it’s far more frustrating when the dealership allegedly engages in practices that face the ire of law enforcement. ...more
The other day, we noticed an article announcing that legendary direct marketer Joe Sugarman had passed away. He had quite a career in the industry but was probably best known for the omnipresent BluBlocker sunglasses that...more
CafePress Owners Nabbed for Failing to Protect Consumer Data -
Company left Social Security numbers out and unencrypted, then hid the data breach...more
3/31/2022
/ Advertising ,
Children's Products ,
Class Action ,
Country of Origin ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet Retailers ,
Natural Products ,
Personal Information ,
Product Labels ,
Sensitive Personal Information
We have talked a lot this year about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) focus on reviews, and so far we have seen cases involving review suppression and incentivized reviews, as well as new guidance about how platforms and...more
L’Oréal Gets Pancaked by False Origin Suit -
Famous beauty products made in...Arkansas? ...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a long history of addressing issues involving cigarettes and tobacco, often in the advertising context. Indeed, one of us bloggers started at the FTC in 1998, and the first case he...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled with Weight Watchers (WW) and its subsidiary Kurbo for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA requires websites, apps and other...more
The wave of Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) rulemaking has begun, and it raises many questions: Most notably, how big is this wave going to be, why is the FTC doing this and do I have time for this? Although...more
A lot has been written about the impact of the Supreme Court’s AMG decision on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) future law enforcement approaches and strategies. One option is more administrative litigation, but that...more
Having recovered from the exceedingly lackluster seventh Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting, the two-hour eighth meeting had actual votes and a bit of drama. But be careful what you ask for. ...more
Bunny v. Smaug -
Did Annie’s smack down a snack-box slack-fill strike suit? ...more
2/17/2022
/ AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Chemicals ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dietary Supplements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Price Gouging ,
Product Packaging ,
Scams ,
Slack-Fill Suits ,
Unfair Competition
Ten months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in the AMG case, and with this decision, it put an end to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decades long reliance on Section 13(b) of the FTC Act as the...more
For many years now, each February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a report reminding us that love is indeed a battlefield and that life is not always like an episode of Hart to Hart. The latest FTC data about...more
One of the post-AMG predictions about Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) law enforcement is that we will see more administrative litigation. And that appears to be coming true, but not at an exceptional pace. For...more
Washington State Debates Personal Data Protections -
Will the Evergreen State join Colorado and Cali and flick the data off-switch?...more
2/3/2022
/ Advertising ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Do Not Sell ,
Ethereum ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NAD ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Web Tracking
Up until now, most of the FTC’s law enforcement involving the Contact Lens Rule (Rule) has focused on sellers of cosmetic or decorative lenses. Indeed, safety concerns about decorative lenses were newsworthy in 2010, when...more
2/1/2022
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Incentives ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices