The Federal Trade Commission continued its active enforcement agenda this week, targeting deceptive pricing practices across the healthcare, automotive, and retail sectors. The agency also took action against a martial arts franchisor for misleading earnings claims, secured a Robinson-Patman Act resolution involving wholesale T-shirt distributors, and distributed millions of dollars in consumer refunds stemming from prior settlements. These stories and more after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (October 5 – October 9, 2026)

What You Need to Know

Key Takeaway #1 California’s new AI chatbot law — “Adam’s Law” (SB 1119) — requires companion chatbot operators to conduct mandatory independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments, implement crisis protocols for queries involving self-harm, and notify parents when children disable safety settings. Non-compliance exposes businesses to significant civil liability.

Key Takeaway #2 Assembly Bill 1709 prohibits social media platforms from offering addictive features to users under 16, such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmically personalized feeds. Social media companies found to have negligently harmed children through their platforms face civil penalties of up to $1 million per child under Assembly Bill 2.

Key Takeaway #3 SB 867 prohibits companies for four years from selling or manufacturing toys for children under 16 that include chatbots, further restricting the deployment of AI companionship features in consumer products directed at minors.

Continue Reading California Signs Nation-Leading AI Chatbot and Social Media Laws: What Businesses Need to Know
Federal Trade Commission

The FTC has been active across both consumer protection and competition spaces in the past two weeks. In the consumer protection space, the Commission published guidance on auto dealer price transparency, announced proposed settlements with companies and individuals resolving complaints of alleged deceptive marketing and unfair practices, and sought public comment on platforms’ role in amplifying impersonation scams. In the competition space, the Commission endorsed a Department of Education proposal to increase competition among higher education accreditors. The Commission also revised its Rules of Practice. These stories and more after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 14–25, 2026)

Register now to join Crowell’s State AG team as they kick off a two-part webinar series examining the 2026 State Attorney General elections and what they mean for businesses operating across the United States.

Part One: Mid-Cycle Check-In: The AG Races to Watch

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET

This session will provide a timely look at the Attorney General races to watch, key primary election results, emerging enforcement priorities, and how election outcomes could shape multistate investigations, consumer protection initiatives, and federal-state enforcement efforts in the years ahead.

Continue Reading Register Now! The Future of State Enforcement: Insights from the 2026 AG Elections

In a recently published Law360 article, Crowell attorneys Stacey Geis, Juge Gregg, and Emily Werkmann examine the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding state packaging and recycling laws, analyzing the mounting wave of constitutional challenges to extended producer responsibility programs now enacted across seven states and the significant compliance, litigation, and strategic implications for companies navigating this uncertainty. Click here to read the full article.

Following the holiday weekend, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement with Humboldt Merchant Services requiring the payment processor to pay $12 million and accept restrictions on servicing certain merchants over allegations that it facilitated merchant fraud and rescinded its 2021 policy statement on breaches by health apps and other connected devices as unnecessary in light of the Commission’s 2024 rule amendments. More on these updates after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 7-11, 2026)

This week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a statement regarding the acquisition of Fairfield Medical Center by Adena Health, extended the public comment period on its proposed enforcement policy statement regarding personalized pricing, and announced a settlement with a payment processor to implement merchant screening practices and pay millions over charges of facilitating merchant fraud. More on these stories after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (Aug. 31 – Sept. 4, 2026)

Over the past two weeks, the FTC secured a permanent injunction blocking Henkel’s $725 million acquisition of Liquid Nails, entered a stipulated order unwinding Zillow and Redfin’s $100 million market-exit agreement, and reached a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan over unauthorized dealer fees. The agency also finalized $930,000 in penalties against Cox Media Group and two affiliated firms for deceptive AI advertising claims, issued a draft policy statement on personalized pricing open for public comment, updated National Do Not Call Registry fees for Fiscal Year 2027, and filed an amicus brief in a Fourth Circuit antitrust matter involving Amgen. These stories and more after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (August 17-21, 24-28)

A Market Without Borders – But With Many Regulators

The U.S. pet industry is booming — an estimated $158 billion market in 2024 — and that growth is equally pronounced overseas. Yet unlike well-established frameworks governing human consumer products, pet products occupy a fragmented international regulatory landscape. For companies that manufacture or sell pet products internationally, understanding that landscape is more important than ever.

Continue Reading Pet Products in the Global Arena: What International Regulators Are Watching

On August 19, 2026, the FTC issued a press release outlining the agency’s proposed Enforcement Policy Statement on personalized pricing putting businesses on notice that using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices without clear and conspicuous disclosures — including the fact of personalization, its basis, and the data used — may constitute a deceptive or unfair practice in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Click here to read the full version of this alert.