Tag Archives: FTC

FDA Launches New Directory of Ingredients Used in Products Marketed as Dietary Supplements

Photo of Laura MacherelliPhoto of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Marc WagnerBy Laura Macherelli, Daniel Kaufman and Marc Wagner on Posted in FDA
FDAOn March 6, the FDA announced the launch of its new “Dietary Supplement Ingredient Directory.” According to the FDA, the directory is “a one-stop shop of ingredient information that was previously found on different FDA webpages.” It will allow users to search for information on ingredients in dietary supplements and quickly find links to agency … Continue Reading

FTC’s New Office of Technology Is Not the Game Changer You Might Think

Photo of Daniel KaufmanBy Daniel Kaufman on Posted in FTC
To modest fanfare, last week the Federal Trade Commission announced the creation of a new Office of Technology (Office or OTech). The press release noted that the Office “will strengthen the FTC’s ability to keep pace with technological challenges in the digital marketplace by supporting the agency’s law enforcement and policy work.” Any details about … Continue Reading

Latest FTC Health Privacy Case Sheds Light on Agency Health Privacy Approaches

Photo of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Aleksandra VoldBy Daniel Kaufman and Aleksandra Vold on Posted in Data Counsel
Health privacy has been a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) priority for decades, and indeed, one of its very first privacy cases, in the early 2000s, involved the inadvertent sharing of user health data. Fast-forward a few decades, and health privacy remains a major concern. Case in point: The latest FTC privacy enforcement action focuses on the practices of … Continue Reading

FTC Updates Long-Standing Health Advertising Guidance with Lessons Learned from the 21st Century

Photo of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Randal M. ShaheenBy Daniel Kaufman and Randal M. Shaheen on Posted in FTC
In 1998, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued “Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry,” and for years that document served as an important starting point for analyzing health claims for dietary supplements. Of course, since that document was issued, the FTC has announced hundreds of cases challenging claims that companies have made for health … Continue Reading

Instead of Shining a Light on Dark Patterns, New FTC Report Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

Photo of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Randal M. ShaheenBy Daniel Kaufman and Randal M. Shaheen on Posted in FTC
For some time now, dark patterns have been quite the trending topic for both marketers and privacy professionals. Regulators have frequently railed against dark patterns that purport to manipulate user choices, usually through manipulative user interfaces. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation called the DETOUR Act that would ban dark patterns. And outside this … Continue Reading

The 14th Public Commission Meeting – Dark Patterns, Imposter Rulemaking and Yet Another Policy Statement

Photo of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Amy Ralph MudgeBy Daniel Kaufman and Amy Ralph Mudge on Posted in FTC
After a surprise three-month hiatus, we are back in business with our Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) public and totally unscripted meetings. Candidly, we were a bit surprised to see the return of these meetings, but not quite as surprised as the realization that Kate Bush had the Song of the Summer in 2022. … Continue Reading

So Many Words – The FTC’s Recent Strategic Planning Reports Do Actually Matter

Photo of Daniel KaufmanBy Daniel Kaufman on Posted in FTC
Because I’m someone who is inherently suspicious, my antennae perked up the other Friday when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual strategic planning documents. Friday releases in the summer always make me suspicious (what are you trying to bury on this Friday afternoon when I am pondering the weekend?); further, these documents included … Continue Reading

There Is Bad Press: FTC Defendant Sues the Agency Over an Over-the-Top Release

Photo of Daniel KaufmanPhoto of Michael IngramBy Daniel Kaufman and Michael Ingram on Posted in FTC
P.T. Barnum famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Oscar Wilde, however, gave that quote his own spin and said, “There’s only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Well, some folks most definitely disagree when a whole settlement potentially is tanked over … Continue Reading

Nine Things You Should Know About the New FTC Rulemaking on Privacy and Targeted Advertising

Photo of Daniel KaufmanBy Daniel Kaufman on Posted in FTC
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was initiating a rulemaking to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security.” More specifically, the agency issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security and announced a related workshop on the topic. This rulemaking will … Continue Reading

Not Every Payment Processing Case Is the Same – the Latest FTC Case Provides Some Helpful Reminders

Photo of Daniel KaufmanBy Daniel Kaufman on Posted in FTC
Most of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) law enforcement actions involving payment processors have exclusively focused on allegations that processors did not do sufficient due diligence before onboarding questionable merchants. The latest payment processing case, however, has a bit of a novel twist and focuses instead on alleged deceptions aimed at the merchants that were … Continue Reading
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