FTC, Rent-to-Own Stores Settle Charges of Spying on Consumers Via Rented...
The Federal Trade Commission recently approved nine final orders that settle charges against seven rent-to-own stores and a software design firm and its principals. The charges stemmed from shocking...
View ArticleWyndham Case Challenges FTC’s Authority Over Cybersecurity
Over the past decade the Federal Trade Commission has brought cybersecurity enforcement actions against various private companies, imposing tens of millions of dollars in monetary penalties and...
View ArticleFTC Signals Interest in Enforcement of Deceptive Advertising Laws Against...
Ignorance of the law is no excuse; nor is (willful) ignorance of a business partner’s illegal activities. That’s a lesson to be learned from a recent amended complaint filed by the FTC which named a...
View ArticleFTC Orders Mobile Device Maker to Patch Up Its Software Security
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission recently approved a final order settling charges against mobile device manufacturer HTC America, Inc. HTC develops and manufactures...
View ArticleFTC Looking Closely at Impact on Consumers of ‘Big Data’
Manufacturers and marketers know that the more consumer data they have, the more they can tailor and direct their advertising, their products, and their product placement. This helps them to maximize...
View ArticleWith Complaint Against LabMD, FTC Continues to Flex Enforcement Muscle on...
The Federal Trade Commission recently filed another complaint against a company for alleged data security lapses. As readers of this blog know, the FTC has initiated numerous lawsuits against companies...
View ArticleHow to Break the Federal Debt-Collection Law — By Texting
It’s quite clear that the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission view existing federal consumer protection and communications statutes as fully applicable to new modes of...
View ArticleCFPB Shows It’s a Tough New Cop on the Beat With Case Against Payment Processor
On October 3, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it had filed a complaint in federal district court in Washington state against a leading debt-settlement payment processor,...
View ArticleFTC Takes Tough Action Against ‘Scareware’ Tactics
A great way to make money is to develop a product or service that responds to a consumer want or demand, and then to stay ahead of prospective competitors by offering better pricing or quality. A...
View ArticleAfter Google Action, Those Who Dig for Dirt Must Dig a Little Harder
Google recently announced that it would be taking action to demote websites that profit from the use of mugshot photos. These mugshot sites compile booking photographs taken after people’s arrests and...
View ArticleFTC Files First Lawsuit Against ‘Text Spam’
Spam seems to be everywhere these days, and it has now invaded your wireless handheld. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission filed its first lawsuit ever against an alleged perpetrator of “spam...
View ArticleSellers Beware: Regulatory Action May Lead to Criminal Charges
Having the Federal Trade Commission – or any other government agency – initiate an action against you or your company may seem like very bad news. But it can get much worse. Sometimes, what starts as a...
View ArticleFTC Says These ‘Free’ Offers Were Anything But Free
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against a Canadian entrepreneur and a group of web-based businesses that promised “free” offers that were far from free. In its lawsuit, the FTC...
View ArticlePrepaid Phone Companies Dial a Wrong Number at the FCC
Companies marketing prepaid phone cards should be on the lookout: the Federal Communications Commission is threatening more-severe penalties for deceptive advertising. The prepaid phone card business...
View ArticleSelf-Regulation Reigns, for Now, on Consumer Data Privacy Issues
The online advertising industry is inching its way to more comprehensive policies regarding the collection of consumer data. Several announcements this month by different self-regulatory groups show...
View ArticleGoogle, Microsoft Assume Roles of Judge, Jury and Executioner on the Web
Google, Yahoo! and Bing have suspended their accounts with hundreds of advertisers and agents associated with mortgage programs under federal investigation. The move by Google and Microsoft (Microsoft...
View ArticleApp Industry Begins to Regulate Itself on Data Privacy – With Nudge From...
The data free-for-all that’s been enjoyed by the app industry is over … more or less. No longer should the industry expect to collect and use customer data – so accessible and abundant in smartphones...
View ArticleShould FTC Protect Gamers Against Unhappy Endings?
Whether you or not you are an avid gamer, you have probably realized that a significant segment of the general population takes gaming quite seriously. Probably a little too seriously sometimes. It...
View ArticleFTC Takes New Look at Alcohol Industries, Focusing on Digital Media
The media world has changed radically since the last time that the Federal Trade Commission took a look at the marketing efforts of the nation’s major alcoholic beverage producers. So the FTC is taking...
View ArticleCFPB’s First Case: Consent Order Against Capital One for Deceptive Marketing
The barely year-old Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came out of the gate this week with its first enforcement action. Capital One has the dubious honor of being CFPB’s premier target under the...
View Article‘Your Baby Can Read,’ Targeted for Dubious Ads, Closes Its Doors
After nearly a decade of persuading hundreds of thousands of parents that their babies were geniuses, the popular company, Your Baby Can Read, is shutting its doors. Its demise is the result of an FTC...
View ArticleWith $22.5 Million Google Settlement, FTC Sends a Clear Message
On August 9, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle the FTC’s charges that it violated a consent order regarding consumer privacy....
View ArticleFTC Sues DISH Network for Violating ‘Do-Not-Call’ Rules in Telemarketing
The FTC recently sued satellite television service operator DISH Network in federal district court in Illinois for violations of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Act. The agency claims...
View ArticleApp Developers Beware: FTC and Congress Are Watching Your Claims, Privacy Issues
All mobile app developers need to know that the federal government is stepping up its regulation of data privacy and truth-in-advertising for mobile apps. The Federal Trade Commission is now actively...
View ArticleFTC Issues Challenge to Public: Write a Program to End Robocalling in America
On October 18, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission hosted a robocall summit to address the current state of the law and to reinforce the FTC’s commitment to enforcing those laws. Additionally, FTC...
View ArticleFCC Ruling Permits Confirmation Text Messages for ‘Opt-Out’ Customers
The Federal Communications Commission recently ruled that companies may send a one-time text message confirming a consumer’s opt-out of texts without violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act...
View ArticleFTC Report Faults App Developers on Data Collection From Kids
The Federal Trade Commission released a report on December 10, 2012, that concluded that mobile apps targeted at children were collecting large amounts of data from children and sharing their...
View ArticleCriminal Background Checks? The FTC Knows There’s an App for That
As we cautioned in a September post, the FTC is stepping up enforcement actions against mobile app developers for failure to comply with consumer protection principles. This month, the FTC took another...
View ArticleFTC Remains Tough on ‘Robocalls’ with New Enforcement Case
Once again, the FTC has completed a major enforcement action against the illegal use of robocalls, a form of prerecorded, computerized telemarketing calls. This time, the action resulted in a $1.1...
View ArticleWeb Analytics Firm Settles FTC Charges Over Intrusive Data Tracking
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it has approved a final order settling charges against Compete, Inc., a Boston-based web analytics company. Compete, Inc. sells reports on consumer...
View ArticleFTC Revises Online Advertising Disclosure Guidelines: Say It and Say It Clearly
This week, the FTC released updated guidance to its 2000 “Dot Com Disclosures,” a guide covering disclosures in online advertising. The online world has certainly changed in 13 years, and the new...
View ArticleFTC Points to Key Issues in New World of Mobile Payments
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission released a staff report outlining key issues facing consumers and companies as they adopt mobile payment services, entitled “Paper, Plastic . . . or...
View ArticleWhat’s That Charge on My Mobile Phone Bill? The FTC Wants to Know
“Cramming” – while it sounds like the experience of being in the middle row of a cross-country flight – actually refers to unauthorized charges on phone bills. Residential and business...
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