We previously blogged a few weeks ago about the FTC’s sweep of influencers and warning letters being sent regarding whether material connections are disclosed, and if so, if they are done clearly and conspicuously. The FTC has issued a press release with more detail. We now know there were over 90 such letters sent. For … Continue Reading
On March 29, 2017 the Supreme Court of the United States held that a New York law prohibiting retailers from disclosing credit card surcharges, while allowing discounts for cash purchases (effectively eliminating the surcharge), regulates speech and not just conduct. The Court, however, passed on evaluating whether the statute violates the First Amendment. Instead, the … Continue Reading
We love golf, cooking, and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”), so when the FTC brings a case involving all of this, we are compelled to blog. As it is almost Masters time, please feel free to put on your green jacket and read on. On March 24th, the FTC filed suit in California … Continue Reading
Note: We have revised the description of the terms of the settlement in our recent blog post on the Carribean Cruise Line TCPA matter. Click here to read the corrected post. Having trouble sleeping and need something to read? Lucky for you the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau) recently released its 1700+ page final rule … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just released its agenda for its September 15th workshop, “Putting Disclosures to the Test,” a full-day event aimed at improving the testing of disclosures by industry, academics, and the FTC. The workshop will review testing methodologies and examine how consumers perceive disclosures. Information will also be presented on how to … Continue Reading
DJ Khaled’s Snapchat account has quickly risen in profile over the past year, with his continuous snaps about meals, music, and the keys to success. But the tone of many celebrity social media posts, including Snapchat, may soon need to change. In recent days, the FTC has made clear that it will begin to more … Continue Reading
We’ve blogged several times about the need to disclose when social media posts by endorsers, particularly celebrities, have been paid for. And there has been lots of guidance and discussion about how best to do that, particularly in shorter form media such as Twitter. For example, “The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking” provides … Continue Reading
Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an opinion that serves as a powerful reminder of the risks of not taking telemarketing compliance seriously. In August 2014, the FTC sued the Partners in Health Care Association (“PIHC”), its principal Gary Kieper, and others for deceptively telemarketing medical discount cards. … Continue Reading
Website disclosures are a hot topic these days, and are not new. And yet, you should still be paying attention to the law as it evolves around this important component of your website. There are nuances to consider, and, in California, we now have some clarity on how to analyze a browsewrap agreement. In Long … Continue Reading
It doesn’t take a genius to know that health claims are on the FTC’s radar. In fact, at last year’s NAD conference, Commissioner Brill said that the FTC will prioritize enforcement of unsubstantiated health claims, such as cognitive claims. We have blogged about learning claims before, including the Word Smart case. However, Lumosity, which created … Continue Reading
A couple of years ago it felt like we were blogging about developments in cases involving “up to” claims up to 3x more often than just about any other topic. To summarize the upheaval, for many years there were cases allowing an up to claim if an “appreciable number” of consumers could enjoy the claimed … Continue Reading
As we’ve mentioned before, and as this year is unfolding, it looks like the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is even more desperate to enforce the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”) than we are to find good skin care products. The FTC has begun expanding its enforcement of ROSCA into various industries, including now the … Continue Reading
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA), is one of many vehicles that plaintiffs use to bring lawsuits over warranty claims. It is a federal statute that governs warranties on consumer products. The Federal Trade Commission has enacted regulations governing the disclosure of written consumer product warranty claims. Just this month, the Federal Trade Commission completed a … Continue Reading
On March 31, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion, granting the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion for a final order providing injunctive relief, monetary relief, and civil penalties against Daniel Chapter One and James Feijo for making claims that Daniel Chapter One’s dietary supplements could treat, cure, … Continue Reading
Last week, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada granted partial summary judgment for the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) against Jeremy Johnson and a number of related corporate entities collectively referred to as “iWorks,” offering a glimpse into how the FTC and the courts analyze certain online advertising issues. The FTC first … Continue Reading
A recent Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settlement with BMW serves as a good reminder to take a fresh look at Mag-Moss compliance for all companies offering warranties. The FTC’s business guidance provides a helpful checklist to make sure your warranty program is all tuned up. BMW for its MINI Coopers offered a 4-year or 50,000-mileage … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “the Commission”) has clearly subscribed to enforcing ROSCA recently. On Tuesday, the FTC filed a complaint against DIRECTV’s negative option program and contract pricing structure under Section 5 of the FTC Act and ROSCA. In the complaint, the FTC alleged that DIRECTV required customers to agree to a mandatory … Continue Reading
February 22, 2015, marked the 87th Academy Awards ceremony. Some people tuned in because they love the movies, others for the fashion and celebrities, but, as for me, I watched it with my wife and was simply counting the minutes until “The Walking Dead” came on. As I watched the celebrities work the red carpet, … Continue Reading
The Better Business Bureau (BBB), known for being the home of NAD, CARU and other advertising self-regulatory forums, is now also the proud owner of an updated advertising code. The BBB announced earlier this month significant updates to its Code of Advertising for the first time since 1985 (when the number one single was “Careless … Continue Reading
We’re a bit later than usual with our blog on the Super Bowl ads because, well quite frankly, it took us awhile to recover from the shock of how the game ended (we’ll leave that ambiguous as to whether we were shocked in a positive or negative way because we love all our clients and … Continue Reading
Looking back 2014 was a year of increased government scrutiny and compliance obligations for lead generators and online marketers, and so, for 2015, advertisers will need to ramp up compliance. Avoiding banned terms, better use of disclosures, and other web and contact center compliance enhancements – with at least some reports of 66% of website … Continue Reading
That’s perhaps exactly what the FTC tried to avoid by bringing two new auto disclosure enforcement actions late last week. Both actions seek to enforce existing orders, though in the one instance the parties agreed to settle while in the other the parties will have their day in court. The FTC has been coming down hard … Continue Reading
There may come a time (but hopefully not) where you need to write a website disclaimer, email, Facebook post, whatever trying to dispel consumer confusion and head off an advertising lawsuit. How might you do that? Keep editing if your first draft looks something like this: “We have learned that some customers are confused and … Continue Reading
The vast majority of Terms of Service (TOS) on websites are unenforceable. Companies spend a great deal of time and money in crafting what they believe to be appropriate website specific TOS which they hope will provide them with the various protections, safe harbors and advantages needed in dealing with the public or in transacting … Continue Reading
