Archives: FTC

The Rubber Hits the Road to the Tune of $10 Million – FTC and Illinois Sue an Auto Dealership

By Linda A. Goldstein and Daniel Kaufman on April 5, 2022 Posted in FTC

Not many people enjoy sitting in a car dealership spending hours evaluating or making a costly purchase, but it’s far more frustrating when the dealership allegedly engages in practices that face the ire of law enforcement. A recent case announced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is important for many reasons. First, it’s a helpful … Continue Reading

Taking a Lesson from the FTC – Reviews and Gag Clauses Emerge as CFPB Issues

By Daniel Kaufman on March 30, 2022 Posted in FTC

We have talked a lot this year about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) focus on reviews, and so far we have seen cases involving review suppression and incentivized reviews, as well as new guidance about how platforms and marketers should handle reviews. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has now staked its claim to … Continue Reading

The 9th Public FTC Meeting – Reporting on Vaping and E-Cigarettes

By Daniel Kaufman and Amy Ralph Mudge on March 18, 2022 Posted in FTC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a long history of addressing issues involving cigarettes and tobacco, often in the advertising context. Indeed, one of us bloggers started at the FTC in 1998, and the first case he worked on was the agency’s litigation against R.J. Reynolds. That case alleged that the company’s use of the … Continue Reading

No Time to Weight and Watch for Children’s Data Compliance

By Daniel Kaufman and Michael Ingram on March 10, 2022 Posted in FTC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled with Weight Watchers (WW) and its subsidiary Kurbo for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA requires websites, apps and other online services to obtain express parental consent prior to collecting, using or disclosing personal information of children under 13. It is a complex … Continue Reading

You Do Have Time for This – the New Wave of FTC Rulemaking

By Daniel Kaufman on March 8, 2022 Posted in FTC

The wave of Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) rulemaking has begun, and it raises many questions: Most notably, how big is this wave going to be, why is the FTC doing this and do I have time for this? Although there has been a great deal of concern raised about whether and why … Continue Reading

FTC and the States — Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask

By Daniel Kaufman and Victoria Weatherford on March 3, 2022 Posted in FTC

A lot has been written about the impact of the Supreme Court’s AMG decision on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) future law enforcement approaches and strategies. One option is more administrative litigation, but that process can take many years and requires the FTC to demonstrate that the challenged practices were “dishonest or fraudulent.” Another option … Continue Reading

A Return to Substance: The 8th Public Commission Meeting Kicks Off Yet Another Mag-Moss Rulemaking

By Daniel Kaufman and Amy Ralph Mudge on February 18, 2022 Posted in FTC

Having recovered from the exceedingly lackluster seventh Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting, the two-hour eighth meeting had actual votes and a bit of drama. But be careful what you ask for. We highlighted the lack of consumer turnout at the last meeting, and that was certainly not the case this month – even members of … Continue Reading

The Shifting Post-AMG Landscape – Changes to the FTC Approach to Law Enforcement

By Daniel Kaufman on February 15, 2022 Posted in FTC

Ten months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in the AMG case, and with this decision, it put an end to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decadeslong reliance on Section 13(b) of the FTC Act as the primary tool to obtain monetary relief in federal court. It’s impossible to overstate the significance … Continue Reading

A Timely Federal Reminder that Love Stinks – Romance Scams with a Crypto Twist

By Daniel Kaufman on February 14, 2022 Posted in FTC

For many years now, each February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a report reminding us that love is indeed a battlefield and that life is not always like an episode of Hart to Hart. The latest FTC data about romance scams states that the dollars (not including heartache) lost to online romance scammers … Continue Reading

The FTC Administrative Process: Get Prepared for an Extended Engagement

By Daniel Kaufman on February 10, 2022 Posted in FTC

One of the post-AMG predictions about Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) law enforcement is that we will see more administrative litigation. And that appears to be coming true, but not at an exceptional pace. For the past few decades, FTC administrative litigation of consumer protection matters has been quite rare, but until recently, there … Continue Reading

FTC Issues Guidance on Use of Consumer Reviews: Brands, Platforms and Comparison Websites Are in the Hot Seat

By Linda A. Goldstein on February 8, 2022 Posted in Advertising, FTC

The use of consumer reviews as a marketing strategy has grown exponentially in recent years, and brands have become increasingly reliant on consumer reviews as a marketing strategy to drive consumer purchase behavior. In fact, a recent study by Bright Local revealed that over 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations … Continue Reading

Made in USA, Part Three – Materials Not Available in the US

By Randal M. Shaheen and Amy Ralph Mudge on February 7, 2022 Posted in Advertising, FTC

This is our third blog in a series that is examining potential ambiguities in the Federal Trade Commission’s (Commission) Made in USA (MUSA) guidance – ambiguities that become particularly more important now that MUSA claims in labeling are the subject of a new Commission, the violation of which can lead to civil penalties. Suppose a … Continue Reading

All Eyes on Us – the Latest FTC Case Involves Contact Lenses plus an Important Lesson About Incentivized Reviews

By Daniel Kaufman on January 31, 2022 Posted in FTC

Up until now, most of the FTC’s law enforcement involving the Contact Lens Rule (Rule) has focused on sellers of cosmetic or decorative lenses. Indeed, safety concerns about decorative lenses were newsworthy in 2010, when Lady Gaga appeared in her Bad Romance video with “cartoonishly large eyes.” But the agency just announced a case against … Continue Reading

Texas’ Latest Lawsuit Against Google Challenges Endorsements Made by Radio Personalities

By Victoria Weatherford and Lisa Virgen on January 27, 2022 Posted in Advertising, FTC

Last week, the State of Texas sued Google in state court for allegedly deceptive advertisements by radio personalities (radio DJs) praising the Google smartphone, the Pixel 4. The lawsuit claims that Google violated the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act when it used radio personalities to read scripted testimonials before they had access to the phone. … Continue Reading

FTC Reviews Fashion Nova – Review Suppression Leads to Double Trouble

By Daniel Kaufman on January 26, 2022 Posted in FTC

In April 2020, when we were all focused on finding masks and hand sanitizer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $9.3 million settlement with Fashion Nova. The agency alleged that the company violated the Mail Order Rule by failing to notify consumers of shipping delays, failing to notify consumers of their cancellation rights and … Continue Reading

Nothing to See Here … Move Along. The Seventh Public Commission Meeting on Identity Theft

By Daniel Kaufman and Amy Ralph Mudge on January 21, 2022 Posted in FTC

Yesterday’s sole topic for the monthly public Federal Trade Commission (FTC) meeting was identity theft. That’s it. No policy statements, no votes, no repeal of carefully crafted bipartisan policy documents, just identity theft, statistics about identity theft and the FTC’s resources about identity theft. It is unclear why we needed a meeting to discuss this … Continue Reading

Made in USA, Part Two – How Far Back Do You Have to Look?

By Randal M. Shaheen and Amy Ralph Mudge on January 19, 2022 Posted in FTC

Prior to the new year, we blogged about how the Federal Trade Commission’s (Commission) decision to codify its Made in USA (MUSA) guidance into a rule – and the accompanying threat of civil penalties – makes it all the more important to clarify ambiguities and uncertainties with respect to MUSA. As we noted then, we … Continue Reading

I’m a Lawyer . . . What Do You Mean I’m Being Named in an FTC Complaint? The FTC Act and Individual Liability

By Daniel Kaufman on January 13, 2022 Posted in FTC, Individual Liability

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an interesting case against a lead generator (ITMedia) that purportedly collected sensitive information from consumers who were seeking loans and sold that information to entities that were not in the business of providing loans. The defendants settled charges that they violated both the FTC Act and the … Continue Reading

Understanding the FTC Penalty Box

By Daniel Kaufman on January 10, 2022 Posted in Civil Penalties, FTC

Much like an artist looking for a muse, I keep up with consumer protection developments and ponder – is this blog-worthy? Well, the other day, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual updates to its civil penalty numbers. I yawned and returned to the task at hand. My colleague Amy, however, wisely thought that … Continue Reading

Legal Marketing Resolutions for 2022 — Better Coffee for All

By Daniel Kaufman on January 5, 2022 Posted in FTC, Legal Marketing

I made my last New Year’s resolution 10 years ago in 2012. Technically, it wasn’t a resolution; maybe it was more of a lifestyle choice. I vowed that I would no longer drink the coffee that was sold in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) now-defunct Top of the Trade cafeteria. It was a great place … Continue Reading

Why Everyone Is Talking About a Rarely Invoked Rule – the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule

By Daniel Kaufman on December 22, 2021 Posted in Data Privacy, FTC

Back in September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued (by a 3-2 vote) a policy statement (the Statement) regarding the oft-forgotten Health Breach Notification Rule (the Rule). I was at the FTC when the Statement was released and have since joined BakerHostetler. Around the time I joined BakerHostetler, my new colleague Melissa Hewitt published an … Continue Reading

What Is a Rule-A-Palooza – Another Public Federal Trade Commission Meeting

By Daniel Kaufman on December 17, 2021 Posted in FTC

I used to read a lot of TV show recaps that were touted as “We watch so you don’t have to.” Little did I know that same concept would apply to these new public meetings of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and that I would be the one recapping. The meetings aren’t quite must-see TV, … Continue Reading

A Stumble out of the Section 19 FTC Gate

By Daniel Kaufman on December 13, 2021 Posted in FTC

As many of our readers know, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in AMG dramatically changed things with respect to the ability of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to obtain certain monetary remedies. A lot has been written and theorized about the FTC’s post-AMG strategies, but certainly Section 19 of the FTC Act was lined up … Continue Reading

Dawn of the FTC Zombie Votes

By Daniel Kaufman on December 7, 2021 Posted in FTC

Kudos to Commissioner Noah Phillips and Commissioner Christine Wilson for creating and/or popularizing the catchiest Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) phrase of 2021 – zombie votes. But what are these zombie votes that are the latest FTC bone of contention, and do they relate to the traditional lumbering George Romero zombies or to the … Continue Reading