The FTC has made it a priority to combat fake and misleading reviews. For example, just this year alone, the FTC announced a settlement with a retailer over its failure to post negative reviews, announced a settlement with...more
In these difficult financial times, some of us may turn to our financial advisors for advice. Others may turn to Kim Kardashian. If you fall into the latter category, you may have seen that last year, Ms. Kardashian posted a...more
As we’ve noted in other posts, an FTC rule prohibits companies from stating or implying that a product is made in the USA unless: (1) the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the USA; (2) all significant...more
The FTC and six states just announced that they had filed a lawsuit against Roomster – a platform through which people can find rooms and roommates – along with its owners, alleging that they had “inundated the internet with...more
The FTC is focused on ensuring that consumers have options when it comes to repairing products. In 2019, they held a workshop to discuss manufacturer restrictions on repair rights. In a 2021 report, they concluded there was...more
The FTC is focused on ensuring that consumers have options when it comes to repairing products. In 2019, they held a workshop to discuss manufacturer restrictions on repair rights. In a 2021 report, they concluded there was...more
When a disclosure is necessary to prevent an ad from being misleading, the disclosure must be presented in a “clear and conspicuous” manner. Exactly what that means depends a lot on the context, but in order to give the...more
Last month, my colleagues posted about the FTC’s proposed changes to the Endorsement Guides. This post takes a closer look at how those proposed changes could impact influencer campaigns by answering five questions that we...more
Lions Not Sheep is a clothing company that, in its own words, allows consumers who wear its clothes to “show people it’s possible to live your life as a LION, not a sheep.” In addition to making people aware of that...more
Companies that make environmental or “green” claims generally refer to the FTC’s Green Guides for guidance on what they can and cannot say and what substantiation they need. At this point, though, the Green Guides are more...more
Last year, Prose – a company that makes customized haircare products – brought an NAD challenge against a competitor, Function, over Function’s claims that it had over 110,000 5-star product reviews. Shortly after that,...more
As we’ve noted in other posts, an FTC rule prohibits companies from stating or implying that a product is made in the USA unless: (1) the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the USA; (2) all significant...more
Last week, we wrote about the FTC’s first case involving a company’s failure to post negative reviews. Just a few days later, the FTC reached a $3.5 million settlement with Hubble Contacts. Although much of the FTC’s...more
Companies often ask us whether they can highlight positive reviews without mentioning negative ones. The good news is that there are ways to do that, but when the conversation veers from highlighting positive reviews to...more
Last week, Jessica Rich wrote about the FTC’s rulemaking plans for 2022. Make sure you read that post for a detailed analysis of what the Commission is planning. As we looked at which of those topics have generated the most...more
Earlier today, the FTC issued a policy statement warning marketers against using “dark patterns” to trick or trap consumers into subscription services. The statement is primarily intended to assist marketers by providing...more
As we have noted in earlier posts, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s holding that Section 13(b) of the FTC Act does not allow for monetary restitution, the Federal Trade Commission has been attempting to creatively utilize...more
Last week, we posted about an NAD case involving green claims that Georgia-Pacific made for its Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bathroom Tissue. In that post, we examined issues related to how a company substantiates...more
This summer, a plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against Allbirds, alleging (among other things) that the company’s environmental claims – including claims about its “sustainable” practices, the “low carbon footprint” of...more
In February, we posted that the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (or “CARU”) was in the process of updating its Guidelines for ads directed to children. The Guidelines had last been updated in 2006, and advertisers often...more
When the FTC decides not to pursue an investigation, it often issues a short closing letter to the company explaining why FTC staff decided not to recommend enforcement. The letters are just a few paragraphs long and don’t...more
Because consumer reviews are so important in today’s marketplace, many companies go to great lengths to increase their number of favorable reviews. Sometimes, they go too far. We’ve written about FTC and NAD cases in which...more
In its Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers guide, the FTC recommended that when an influencer promotes a brand in a video, the influencer should disclose any connection it has to the brand in the video itself. In...more
We’ve written about automatic renewals before, but the $10 million price tag in the FTC’s settlement with the operators of ABCmouse should grab your attention.
The FTC alleged that over a three-year period, the company...more
When we posted about a $9.3 million FTC settlement involving the Mail Order Rule, many people commented that they had never heard of that Rule, and wondered what else they might be missing....more