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Over the 2024 summer, new EU rules entered into force regarding unsold consumer products under the new ESPR (i.e. the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation – Regulation (EU) 2024/1781).  The legal obligations themselves are relatively concise and short in number and therefore perhaps easy to overlook.  However, companies selling or supplying consumer products in the EU/EEA – particularly companies in the clothing, footwear, apparel, textile and retail sectors – should beware and not underestimate their importance or impact.

Continue Reading Companies Selling Consumer Products in the EU (Particularly Clothing, Apparel, and Footwear Companies) Beware: The New ESPR Rules on Unsold Consumer Products Have Now Entered into Force

On August 26, 2024, the FTC announced a stipulated order and settlement with Care.com for 8.5 MM.  The complaint, filed in W.D. Tex. alleges various violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act with respect to the manner in which Care.com advertised and promoted the number of jobs available on its platform, and its auto-renew or subscription feature.  The FTC labeled Care.com’s subscription cancellation flow a “dark pattern”; it is hard to locate, and, once found, consumers must “navigate a multipage process rife with deceptive design tactics”.  The conclusion, per the FTC is that Care.com just doesn’t want users to be able to cancel.  In the stipulated order, the parties agreed that: 

Continue Reading The FTC and “Cancel Culture”
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The FTC stayed busy during the beginning of August. The agency announced a host of proposed settlements with companies and individuals engaged in deceptive and fraudulent business schemes. All this and more after the jump:

Continue Reading FTC Updates (August 5-9, 2024)
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The building of the Federal Trade Commission in downtown Washington DC.

Call it the summer of junk fees and drip pricing. In July, California’s new drip pricing law went into effect and in August the federal government announced further proposed rules into junk fees and subscription services. Regulators say these proposed price transparency laws and regulations are consumer protection tools that will save consumers money, help them avoid hidden fees and enable them to cancel recurring charges and subscriptions.

Here is what you need to know now:

Continue Reading Turning up the Heat on Junk Fees and Drip Pricing: Federal and State Regulations Require Increased Transparency into Pricing and Contract Cancellation

As we’ve previously reported, FTC practitioners and businesses alike have been anxiously awaiting details about the rule that will prohibit purportedly deceptive practices in connection with reviews and testimonials. Our readers likely recall the FTC’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking from November 2022, the notice of proposed rulemaking from June 2023, and the informal hearing on the proposed rule which occurred in February 2024. The wait is finally over: just yesterday, August 14, 2024, the agency announced the “Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials” (the “Rule”). The final Rule, which the Commissioners unanimously approved, is a formal step to address alleged ongoing non-compliance with Section 5 of the FTC Act and the agency’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the “Endorsement Guides”), particularly in the consumer review space.

Continue Reading Final Rule Announced: The FTC Strengthens Its Enforcement Capacity Against “Deceptive” Reviews and Testimonials
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Gone are the days of hidden fees and tacked on surcharges in California. Starting July 1, 2024, SB478 prohibits businesses in California from adding automatic service charges onto consumer bills. The law applies to the sale or lease of most consumer goods, including hotel and restaurant fees.

Significantly, the laws requires transparency in the advertised price. This means that businesses must disclose all costs and fees upfront – no more surprises in your shopping cart before checkout, or that mandatory “large group” fee at restaurants. It’s not even enough to disclose all the fees before the consumer finalizes the transaction or hits “buy”. The total cost must be the advertised price, disclosed at the top of the funnel. Some exceptions apply, but they are limited to items such as mandatory sales tax, shipping and voluntary tips. Penalties are stiff: consumers can bring claims against businesses, with a max of $1,000 per violation, and consumers can recover attorneys’ fees.

Continue Reading California Is Tightening the Pipes on Drip Pricing
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On July 29, 2024, FDA announced that it added two new features to Cosmetics Direct, the electronic submission portal  used for the facility registration and product listing requirements now in effect under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). The portal now allows responsible persons to “discontinue” and “relist” cosmetic products.

Continue Reading Cosmetics Direct Gets Two Portal “Fillers” – Discontinuation & Relisting Features Added
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The building of the Federal Trade Commission in downtown Washington DC.

As we proceed through July, the FTC continues to bring the summer heat in cracking down on the advertising practices of cannabis manufacturers, and on the possible anti-competitive effects of serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies.  All this, and more, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (July 15-19, 2024)
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The building of the Federal Trade Commission in downtown Washington DC.

The FTC has kept a steady march through the summer, announcing developments in existing cases, submitting testimony to Congress, and revising existing regulatory exemptions.  Also, the FTC finalized reports on dark patterns, challenged a merger, and issued warning letters on the right to repair.  This, and more, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (July 1-12, 2024)

France is ramping up its enforcement efforts against counterfeit fashion as the 2024 Paris Olympics open. As it readied Paris for the Olympics, France reinforced existing efforts to dissuade consumers from purchasing and carrying knockoff goods and to target the vendors of these goods. In anticipation of a flood of tourists for the 2024 summer games, the French government has placed notices at its airports, warning consumers of the significant penalties they may face from buying and wearing counterfeit clothing and accessories, up to a €300,000 fine and three years’ imprisonment. It has also conducted raids on vendors selling counterfeit items, including an early April one where police shuttered almost a dozen sellers and seized 63,000 counterfeits, including bags and shoes, at the famed Saint-Ouen flea market.

Continue Reading Authorities Go for Gold on Fake Fashion Enforcement as Paris Olympics Begin