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
On September 19, Sam Levine, the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, outlined the agency’s priorities at the annual conference of the National Advertising Division. Here are the...more
9/20/2023
/ Advertising ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
FTC Act ,
Hidden Fees ,
NAD ,
Pricing ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trade Conference ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Website Design
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and six states permanently banned Roomster Corp. and its owners, John Shriber and Roman Zaks, from purchasing or incentivizing consumer reviews as part of a settlement over...more
As we covered previously, courts are coming around to reading Section 19 of the FTC Act more narrowly than the Federal Trade Commission may hope. In the latest instance, on June 9, 2023, a magistrate judge in the Southern...more
Join us on August 2, 2023 for a webinar highlighting the key changes and revisions to the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsements and Testimonial Guides (Guides) and a discussion of the Commission's new proposed trade...more
Thirteen months after proposing sweeping changes to its Endorsements and Testimonial Guides (Guides), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized its revised guidelines and released an updated set of FAQs to help guide...more
7/6/2023
/ Advertising ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Intermediaries ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 5 ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent settlement with Dalal A. Akoury and AWAREmed Health & Wellness Resource Center provides a good overview of how today’s FTC approaches medical claims it believes are unsubstantiated. The...more
3/23/2023
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Claims ,
Health Clinics ,
Opioid ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Gather your W-2’s and call your CPAs! Tax season is upon us, and that means one thing for the FTC—another flurry of activity in its ongoing action against Intuit, Inc., one of the largest online tax-filing services. Recently,...more
Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had issued a complaint and proposed consent order against Instant Brands LLC for allegedly marketing products as “Made in the USA,” when they were actually made in...more
On December 20th, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission published new guidance regarding claims about the benefits and safety of health-related products: Health Products Compliance Guidance. This guidance replaces the...more
At its December 14, 2022 open meeting, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on potential updates or revisions to its existing Green Guides. The Green Guides...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas settled with advertising giants Google and iHeartMedia for deceptive...more
12/2/2022
/ Advertising ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Google ,
iHeart Media ,
Influencers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General
At a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) event last week, Chair Lina Khan said children are more susceptible than adults to deceptive or harmful practices, especially those that blur the line between advertising and entertainment....more
The FTC is undertaking a historic effort to draft new rules that will impact every facet of the national economy. Many companies and legal scholars are questioning the FTC’s authority to draft certain of the broad rules it...more
By a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Federal Trade Commission last week released a staff report that sheds light on the agency’s enforcement positions and priorities regarding digital “dark patterns,” which the FTC defines as...more
Last week the Federal Trade Commission and six states sued rental listing platform Roomster, Corp. along with its owners for allegedly charging consumers for access to phony listings bolstered by fake reviews it had...more
9/9/2022
/ Advertising ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Fake Reviews ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Marketing ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Reviews ,
Rental Property ,
User Fees
On August 30, the Federal Trade Commission announced a complaint and proposed order for Ohio-based Electrowarmth Products, LLC and its owner, alleging they improperly claimed that their heated fabric truck bunk...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent action against Credit Karma serves as a reminder to advertisers that optimizing consumer conversion is not - and cannot be - the be-all and end-all. Regardless of what split or A/B...more
Through a new interpretive rule announced this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has declared that digital marketing providers can be held liable under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA)...more
8/15/2022
/ Advertising ,
Banks ,
Behavioral Advertising ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Covered Entities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internet Marketing ,
Marketing ,
Nonbank Firms ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC is off to the races with another proposed rulemaking. On June 23, the FTC, by a 4-1 vote, issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to combat what it perceives as “junk fees” and “bait-and-switch advertising...more
7/6/2022
/ Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Excessive Fees ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Marketing ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Warranties
The Federal Trade Commission has requested public input about potential updates to its “Dot.Com Disclosures.” The guidance document was last updated nearly a decade ago and has not addressed much of the new technology that...more
Last week, the United States Department of Justice, acting on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, took action against Twitter, Inc. for allegedly using private account security data to sell targeted advertisements without...more
6/1/2022
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Misrepresentation ,
Online Advertisements ,
Swiss Privacy Shield ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Twitter
The Federal Trade Commission’s May 2022 open meeting, Alvaro Bedoya’s first since being sworn in as the agency’s fifth commissioner on May 16, considered a request for public comment on proposed amendments to its Guides...more
“Free” must mean free?
Last week, the attorneys general for all 50 states and the District of Columbia announced a settlement with Intuit, Inc., the owner of TurboTax, which will require the company to hand over $141...more
Last month, love was not all lost for the owner of Tinder and OKCupid when a Texas federal district court in FTC v. Match Group, Inc. granted in part the online dating service provider’s motion to dismiss. Specifically, the...more