On March 31, 2025, the White House announced that President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order designed “to protect fans from exploitative ticket scalping and bring commonsense reforms to America’s live entertainment...more
As contemplated in December 2024, the Federal Trade Commission’s operations during the first two months under the second Trump Administration have been chaotic. Unsurprisingly, the policy focus appears to be de-regulation...more
On March 10, 2025, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection published a blog entry on the FTC’s website entitled “Did your business receive a CID? The FTC means business.”...more
On January 13, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is seeking comment on proposed changes to the Business Opportunity Rule and a proposed new Earnings Claim Rule. According to the FTC, the two, taken...more
1/17/2025
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Business Opportunity Laws ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Has your company received an FTC warning letter or a penalty offense notice? If so, such correspondence should not be ignored because there is a high likelihood that the FTC is in the process of actively and quickly seeking...more
1/2/2025
/ Advertising ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Code of Conduct ,
Compliance ,
False Statements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
MLM Industry ,
Penalties ,
VoIP ,
Warning Letters
President-elect Donald Trump recently announced that Republican Commissioner Andrew Ferguson will chair the Federal Trade Commission during Mr. Trump’s second administration. Commissioner Ferguson is also a known critic of...more
12/16/2024
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Nominations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Penalties ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Trump Administration
The FTC Better Online Ticket Sales Act (“BOTS Act” or the “Act”)) prohibits the circumvention of a security measure, access control system, or other technological control measure used online by a ticket issuer. The Act also...more
On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced the final FTC “Click-to-Cancel” Rule pertaining to recurring subscriptions and memberships.
The Federal Trade Commission is not the only regulatory agency that...more
The FTC often initiates enforcement actions seeking to hold companies responsible for consumer injury caused by others or in which they directly participated in the misconduct. FTC CID and investigation attorney previously...more
10/25/2024
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Credit Cards ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financing ,
Fraud ,
Lead Generators ,
Liability ,
Multi-Party Litigation ,
Robocalling ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
VoIP
On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final “click-to-cancel” rule that will require sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign-up. Most of the final rule’s...more
10/21/2024
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Goods or Services ,
Informed Consent ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Redress Payments ,
Subscription Services ,
Terms and Conditions
As previously blogged about here, following notices of proposed rulemaking in 2022 and 2023, on August 22, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule that will impose monetary civil penalties false and misleading...more
10/3/2024
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Fake Reviews ,
False Advertising ,
False Statements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Ratings ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements
The FTC continues to prioritize the investigation of online business coaching and mentoring programs, particularly business coaching scams that promise guaranteed income, large returns, “proven systems,” free or low-cost...more
On August 14, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a Final Rule combatting bogus consumer reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their sale or purchase. The Rule allows FTC lawyers to strengthen enforcement, seek...more
8/14/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compensation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fake Reviews ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Incentives ,
Misrepresentation ,
Penalties ,
Social Media ,
Solicitation ,
Testimonial Statements
On August 8, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced that as a result of a lawsuit, two defendants that allegedly helped operate a purported business opportunity scheme known by several names have agreed to settlements...more
On August 2, 2024, on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice sued video-sharing platform TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, as well as its affiliated companies, with allegedly violating the...more
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice possess both overlapping and distinct authority to challenge anti-competitive practices under federal law. The FTC enforces, without limitation, the FTC Act and the...more
7/29/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
FTC Act ,
Jurisdiction ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sherman Act ,
Telecommunications ,
The Clayton Act ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 2, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission announced that it initiated action against online used car dealer Vroom for allegedly misrepresenting that it thoroughly examined all vehicles before listing them for sale and...more
On July 2, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against a gig work company for allegedly misleading consumers about the money they could make on the company’s platform and marketing its...more
7/11/2024
/ Business Opportunity Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Misleading Statements ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Unfair Labor Practices
On July 2, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a “refreshed version” of the agency’s Complying with the Made in USA Standard guidance document. The refreshed guidance document includes, without limitation, updated...more
7/8/2024
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
New Guidance ,
Tariff Act of 1930
As previously blogged about, here, the Federal Communications Commission recently published the final, single-seller lead generator consent rule (the “Rule”). The Rule amends the definition of “prior express written...more
6/24/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lead Generators ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Written Consent
Advertising agencies are potentially liable to the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive acts or practices, along with their clients.
The FTC will consider numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the extent to...more
6/13/2024
/ Advertising ,
Advertising Substantiation ,
Deceptive Intent ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Misleading Statements ,
Telemarketing ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Third-Party Liability ,
UDAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On June 10, 2024, the U.S. Justice Department announced that together with the Federal Trade Commission, it filed an amended complaint against telehealth company Cerebral Inc., Cerebral’s founder and former Chief Executive...more
6/12/2024
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Misrepresentation ,
PHI ,
ROSCA ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On April 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has banned an alcohol addiction treatment firm from disclosing health data for advertising purposes in order to settle agency charges that the company shared...more
Generally speaking, investigatory procedures, including use of compulsory process, may be used by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorneys in connection with the spectrum of activities that the agency is authorized or...more
5/24/2024
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Law Enforcement ,
Penalties ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Rulemaking Process
The FTC has initiated a number of investigations and enforcement actions in recent years holding companies responsible for consumer injury caused by others or in which they directly participated in the misconduct.
For...more
5/20/2024
/ Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Lead Generators ,
Liability ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
VoIP