All eyes remain on the Supreme Court and what, if any, changes the Court may make to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) authority to seek consumer redress. Will the Court strip the FTC of that authority entirely? The Third Circuit’s recent decision in an antitrust matter suggests so. The circuit court held Section 13(b) of the FTC Act does not allow for disgorgement. (By way of background, that section gives the FTC authority to seek preliminary and permanent injunctions. The FTC has traditionally interpreted this right to injunctive relief as also carrying the authority to seek equitable monetary relief. Some defendants, however, have argued this is too broad an interpretation of the law.)
At the same time, it is worth remembering that even if the FTC’s redress authority survives its Supreme Court challenge, it may not come through unscathed, and defendants and courts are subjecting the FTC’s redress requests to increasing scrutiny. One such example involves a recent Ninth Circuit decision, FTC v. OMICS Group Inc., No. 19-15738 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2020). The case itself is rather unusual. The FTC filed suit against OMICS Group in 2016, alleging that the defendant had misled researchers into submitting articles to it for publication by overstating the nature of the articles it had previously published and had misrepresented the nature of conferences it sponsored, which it charged participants to attend. Continue Reading
If you learned a new dance routine, tie-dyed clothing, made whipped coffee or took part in a “challenge” while staying safely at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you probably have TikTok to thank. TikTok, which has more than 800 million active users, became the go-to social media platform to keep people engaged and entertained while stuck at home. Understandably, brands and their marketing teams quickly learned how to incorporate TikTok into their social strategies. As with any new platform, there was a bit of a learning curve to ensure compliance with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s 
The Rent to Own industry has been a frequent target of Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) action. While the industry notes that it provides an ownership option for consumers who are unable to pay up front and who may not qualify for traditional credit, critics point to the fact that the final cost of a rent to own transaction is often far in excess of what a consumer would have paid even had she financed the purchase over time at traditional credit card interest rates. While a few states have begun strictly regulating the industry, many others have not – such that these industries continue to operate without some of the same requirements imposed on traditional credit arrangements. However, Section 5’s requirements regarding deceptive advertising and marketing still apply, and that’s where our story begins.
