As influencer marketing continues to dominate social media, the legal risks are catching up. In two recent class action lawsuits, companies and their social media influencers are facing allegations of deceptive advertising....more
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit in federal court against rideshare and delivery company Uber for allegedly deceptive subscription practices, including making it unreasonably difficult to cancel....more
4/25/2025
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Negative Option Rule ,
Ridesharing ,
Subscription Services ,
Uber ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In one of the first settlements since the new administration took office, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $17 million monetary judgment with Cleo AI to resolve allegations that Cleo violated Section 5 of the...more
4/2/2025
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
ROSCA ,
Settlement ,
Subscription Services ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Ending speculation and uncertainty about whether new leadership at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would repeal or continue to defend the agency’s Negative Option Rule, which regulates offerings such as autorenewal of...more
3/21/2025
/ Auto-Renewal ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Negative Option Rule ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Subscription Services ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Venable's AdLaw Symposium is back!
Please join us in our Washington, DC, headquarters for this highly anticipated event focused on providing you with the information you need to promote your brand with confidence....more
3/7/2025
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Auto-Renewal ,
Best Practices ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Events ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Greenwashing ,
Legal Ethics ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
Pricing ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State Regulators ,
Subscription Services
With much of the administrative state in turmoil, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be holding steady and continuing to litigate its current cases. We previously discussed the FTC’s lawsuit against Grand Canyon...more
This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Combatting Auto Retail Scams (CARS) rule....more
2/3/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Vacated
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an enforcement action against Evolv Technologies, alleging that the company made deceptive claims about the capabilities of its AI-powered security screening system,...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn’t the only regulator in town when it comes to endorsements and testimonials. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates investment adviser marketing under its “Marketing...more
11/7/2024
/ Advertising ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements
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
9/11/2024
/ Advertising ,
Automatic Renewals ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Marketing ,
ROSCA ,
Settlement ,
Subscription Services ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
During the dog days of August, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought two complaints against auto companies involving alleged deceptive and discriminatory price advertising....more
9/4/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Advertising ,
Choice-of-Venue ,
Consent ,
Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Race Discrimination ,
Section 5
In a surprising ruling, a federal district court in Arizona has held that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cannot prosecute claims under the FTC Act against a nonprofit educational institution.
Late last year, the FTC...more
This summer the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has turned up the heat on two companies that provide extended car repair coverage, CarShield and American Auto Shields, for deceptive and misleading advertising and telemarketing...more
8/6/2024
/ Advertising ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Influencers ,
Service Contracts ,
Social Media ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In a pair of Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a collective $8 million in fines against telecommunications company Lingo Telecom and political...more
6/3/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Deep Fake ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Machine Learning ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Primary Elections ,
Robocalling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Spoofing ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telecommunications
Early this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it had fined the largest U.S. wireless carriers for sharing access to customers’ geolocation information without consent and without taking reasonable...more
5/2/2024
/ Communications Act of 1934 ,
Consent ,
Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) ,
Data-Sharing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Geolocation ,
Personal Data ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Statutory Authority ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry
It’s that time of year again—Ad Law Symposium is back!
Please join us in DC for this highly anticipated event focused on providing you with the information you need to promote your brand with confidence. Combining the...more
2/22/2024
/ Advertising ,
Advertising Substantiation ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automatic Renewals ,
Best Practices ,
Defense Strategies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Events ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Green Marketing ,
Lanham Act ,
Legal Ethics ,
Marketing ,
Pricing ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
Tractor maker Kubota North America Corporation will pay a $2 million civil penalty for falsely labeling its replacement parts as “Made in USA,” the largest civil penalty ever in a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Made in USA...more
1/31/2024
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Country of Origin ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
Product Labels
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a Proposed Stipulated Order with lead generator Response Tree LLC and its president, resolving allegations that the company violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)...more
1/9/2024
/ Consent ,
Do Not Call List ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Lead Generators ,
Misrepresentation ,
Robocalling ,
Settlement ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) won a large battle in its extended war with Intuit, the makers of TurboTax tax-preparation software. An administrative law judge (ALJ) issued a lengthy initial decision, ruling...more