Does the FTC Have Legal Authority Over Affiliate Networks?
In the past few years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has placed several affiliate networks under consent orders for operating allegedly deceptive advertising schemes in violation of the ban on...
View ArticleFTC Sues Processors for Being ‘Unfair’ to Consumers
We think of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as an anti-deception agency, and it is just that. The vast majority of its cases are brought against deceptive business practices. By statute, however,...
View ArticleFTC Snares Ingredient Supplier in Widening Liability Net
My last article and others before discussed a new core enforcement strategy at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): widening the net of liability and consumer redress recovery through actions against...
View ArticleBrain Claims Stimulate Focus (and Action) at the FTC
It’s no secret that success – and even survival – in today’s uber-competitive world hinge on attainment of a quality education, lifelong learning and skill building, and the capable mental functioning...
View ArticleFTC Ratchets Up “Conspicuous” Bar For Negative Option Disclosures
It was a busy Fall for the Federal Trade Commission in its non-stop enforcement campaign against “continuity” programs it feels do not “clearly and conspicuously” disclose the terms of a “negative...
View ArticleFTC Commissioners Remain Divided on Health Claim Substantiation
While the appeal of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decision in POM Wonderful that “disease treatment” claims must be backed by two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) inexorably makes its way to...
View ArticleFTC Commissioners Fight Over Free Speech and Dr. Oz as Court Settles RCT Debate
In a major win for the dietary supplements industry and the Republican minority on the Federal Trade Commission, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal has reversed the FTC’s split decision in POM Wonderful...
View ArticleIs There Now a ‘Good Faith’ Defense Under the TCPA?
In “Living Vicariously — and Dangerously — under the TCPA” (DRMA Voice, March 4, 2014) I discussed legal developments swirling around the explosion of litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection...
View ArticleFTC Scores $12 Million TKO Against Affiliate Network
In “Does The FTC Have Legal Authority Over Affiliate Networks?” (DRMA Voice, July 2014), I wrote about FTC v. LeanSpa et al., which included charges against a now defunct affiliate marketing network,...
View ArticleHas FTC Lost its Legal Mojo?
Wonders never cease. The seemingly invincible Federal Trade Commission (FTC), so used to having its way with federal judges, now appears to find itself on a bit of a losing streak – if not in an...
View ArticleFTC Suffers Another Setback in RCT Crusade
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) crusade to mandate randomized controlled trials (RCT) for health claims is not faring well with the federal judiciary. Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals...
View ArticleSupreme Court to Decide Whether Government Can Freeze ‘Untainted’ Funds
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gets a court order to freeze a defendant’s assets for potential consumer redress, all assets are frozen. That can include not only “ill-gotten” gains from the...
View ArticleFTC ‘Avalanche’ Crushes Settling Defendant for Fibbing on Financials
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary figuratively defines “avalanche” as “a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something,” such as being hit by an avalanche of paperwork. Last month, a...
View ArticleSupreme Court Hands TCPA and Privacy Defendants a Gift
The U.S. Supreme Court handed telemarketing and privacy defendants a nice gift in May. In Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, the court denied standing to an individual who had brought a federal class action...
View ArticleFTC Back on Track in RTC Crusade
As I wrote late last year, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) crusade to mandate randomized controlled trials (RCT) for health claims has not been receiving the warmest reception from federal judges....
View ArticleWill Trump’s FTC Enforce the Commission’s Latest Enforcement Policy Statement?
One of the tools the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) uses to provide guidance to business is the Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS). Over the years, the EPS has been used to elucidate the FTC’s views on...
View ArticleDoes the FTC Have the Legal Right to Take Your Money After All?
What makes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) so feared among direct response and online marketers? It’s not a tough injunction or even a ban on involvement with a particular product category or...
View ArticleNegative Option Remains Prime Enforcement Target at Trump FTC
When Acting Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Maureen Ohlhausen – who nine months into the Trump administration perhaps can claim the title of de facto permanent chair – took over the reins of the...
View ArticleFTC Shuts Down Sellers of Amazon Stores for Violating ‘Biz-Op’ Rule
After its promulgation in 2012, I wrote a piece entitled, “Does the New FTC ‘Biz-Op’ Rule Cover Internet ‘Make-Money’ Schemes?” specifically asking about the marketing and sale of web stores. The text...
View ArticleD.C. Circuit Silences ‘Soundboard’ Marketing Calls
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) bans robocalls (automated or prerecorded messages) made without the prior express written consent of the recipient. In reliance on a...
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