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Shahin O. Rothermel

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Shahin Rothermel is an experienced counselor and defender who helps advertisers, retailers, merchants, and marketers advance their business goals while reducing legal and regulatory risks. Shahin provides clients with up-to-date, practical insights into the constantly evolving advertising, marketing, and e-commerce regulations, which allows her clients to make informed decisions. She has achieved successful resolutions, dismissals, and full walkaways in court, saving clients millions of dollars. She takes a pragmatic approach as a counselor, considering the implications of her advice for her clients' marketing campaigns and their bottom lines.

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In a decision underscoring the complexity and risks of making environmental marketing claims, the National Advertising Division (NAD) issued a decision in a challenge brought by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) against Boxed Water is Better® (Boxed Water). In the case, the NAD addressed a slew of claims touching on recyclability, renewability, life cycle impact comparisons, puffery, and more.

Recyclability and the Green Guides

NAD substantiated Boxed Water’s claims that its cartons are “recyclable” and “100% recyclable,” finding that the claims were consistent with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Green Guides, which permit such statements if a substantial majority (defined as 60% or more) of consumers have access to appropriate recycling facilities. Despite the multilayered structure of the cartons and industry challenges separating materials, NAD determined that the key threshold was access—not actual practice.Continue Reading Recyclable, Renewable, Regulated: NAD Pokes Holes in Boxed Water’s Green Pitch

On Friday, ​the Federal Trade Commission voted to defer the compliance deadline for the amended Negative Option Rule by 60 days. The Commission issued a statement on the new deadline.

The delay reflects the FTC’s response to various commenters who expressed concern that, “given the complexities” of these provisions, it would take a substantial…

This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit in federal court against rideshare and delivery company Uber for allegedly deceptive subscription practices, including making it unreasonably difficult to cancel.

In the accompanying press release, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson made clear that regulatory scrutiny of negative option and continuity programs will remain a priority: “Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel. The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people.” The agency voted 2-0-1 to file the complaint, with Commissioner Mark R. Meador recused.Continue Reading FTC Makes Clear It Will Continue Regulating Subscription Services and Signals Enforcement Priority for Negative Option Rule in Lawsuit Against Uber

On April 4, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) published its final material characterization study report, starting the clock for compliance with Senate Bill No. 343 (SB 343), also known as the “Truth in Recycling” law. Under the law, marketers have 18 months from the date the study findings are published to comply with the requirements.

In 2021, California enacted SB 343, which prohibits the use of chasing arrows and any implied “recyclable” claims on products and packaging unless certain criteria are met. Specifically, SB 343 limits when a company can make a recyclable claim for a product or packaging to situations where:Continue Reading Compliance Countdown for California’s “Truth in Recycling” Law Begins

The Trump administration transformed global trade policies by implementing a series of sweeping tariffs. Advertisers should ask the following questions.

1. How can I comply with pricing and transparency laws when my costs increase?

    Tariffs are typically calculated as a percentage of a product’s value, paid by importers, and collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Although Trump now imposes a 10% across the board tariff on most countries, China’s total tariff rates can now exceed 145%. Because tariffs often increase the landed cost of imported products, companies might need to raise prices.

    When incorporating the tariffs into pricing, companies should monitor states’ tariffs announcements and state price gouging laws. (COVID-19 price increases resulted in aggressive enforcement.) Companies should follow “drip pricing” laws requiring the upfront advertised price to reflect all fees (including tariffs and surcharges). Companies should brace for class actions under California’s “Honest Pricing Law,” and challenges to “junk” fees.Continue Reading Eight Questions Advertisers Should Be Asking About Tariffs

    On April 7, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a limited waiver delaying by an additional year the effective date of certain parts of the new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rule. Specifically, the waiver delays the effective date for the requirement that a caller treat a single reasonable revocation as revocation from all future robocalls from that party on unrelated matters, and to accept that single revocation as applying to all its business units and entities, which the agency treats as the same “party.”

    The FCC’s announcement indicated that it applies only to the scope of revocation issues. The bad news for businesses sending texts and making calls? Businesses must still prepare to comply with the rest of the robocall/robotext consent requirements by April 11, 2025. The good news is that companies now have an additional year to implement systems that communicate revocations across different business units within the same company.Continue Reading FCC Approves Narrow Delay of New TCPA Revocation Rule

    In one of the first settlements since the new administration took office, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $17 million monetary judgment with Cleo AI to resolve allegations that Cleo violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). Cleo operated a personal finance mobile app that purportedly allowed consumers to take out “instant” or same-day cash advances. The vote to authorize the settlement was 2-0.

    According to the complaint, Cleo advertised that consumers could access same-day or instant cash advances in the hundreds of dollars. The FTC alleged that when consumers attempted to use Cleo’s services, they were required to enroll in an automatically renewing subscription service where they were charged a subscription cost of $5.99 or $14.99 monthly. Only after the consumers entered in their payment information and enrolled in the subscription service did Cleo disclose to consumers the cash advance they were eligible for.Continue Reading Cleo AI Settles with FTC for $17 Million for Alleged Misleading Practices and Autorenewal Violations

    Ending speculation and uncertainty about whether new leadership at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would repeal or continue to defend the agency’s Negative Option Rule, which regulates offerings such as autorenewal of subscription services, this week the agency filed a brief at the Eighth Circuit defending the rule—something of a surprise.

    We previously discussed the arguments raised by industry groups that are challenging the rule. Broadly, the challengers assert that the rule exceeds the FTC’s statutory authority, is procedurally defective, and is arbitrary and capricious. The Eighth Circuit previously denied petitioners’ request to stay the rule from taking effect pending litigation.Continue Reading FTC Files Brief Defending “Click to Cancel” Negative Option Rule

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) recently issued a series of decisions addressing influencer and third-party marketing. The NAD is a self-regulatory body that assesses the truth and accuracy of claims made in national advertising and refers matters to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if an advertiser refuses to comply with its decisions.

    Influencer’s Lash Claims

    NAD reviewed videos posted on social media featuring a teen influencer self-described as a brand ambassador for the cosmetic company NuOrganic. The influencer made express and implied claims about NuOrganic’s eyelash serum, including “naturally grown long lashes” and “safe for young eyes.” NuOrganic argued that it could not control statements made by the influencer, but that it does monitor posts for content that may violate its guidelines. However, NAD investigated and identified certain Instagram posts where NuOrganic and the influencer had tagged each other about the same product, making substantially similar claims. NAD concluded these posts lacked the disclosures needed to inform viewers about the material connection between the influencer and NuOrganic. NAD recommended that the company take immediate steps to discontinue the videos containing the unsupported claims.Continue Reading National Advertising Division Targets Celebrity, Influencer, and Third-Party Marketing in Recent Decisions

    Last month, a putative class action was filed against Procter & Gamble challenging various green advertising claims for its Charmin toilet paper. The complaint brought a variety of state law claims targeting P&G’s sustainability claims, including “Keep Forests as Forests,” and alleged that the claims were explicitly false and misleading.

    According to the complaint, P&G’s “Keep Forests as Forests” campaign made three promises to consumers by leveraging the “Protect-Grow-Restore” logo:Continue Reading Lawsuit Alleging Greenwashing Filed against Procter & Gamble for Charmin Toilet Paper