The FTC kept busy through the week of the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting including an appearance by Chair Lina Khan at the Spring Meeting on an antitrust enforcement panel. Beyond that, the FTC had enforcement actions, inter-governmental collaborations, and public engagement this week. This, and more, after the jump.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (April 8 – April 12, 2024)
As we close out the last week of March, the FTC updates include highlights from key findings from the International Competition Network on building tech capacity in law enforcement, banning the use of algorithms for price-fixing in the hotel industry, protecting child privacy data from software companies, and seeking information on the contracting practices of large health care organizations and drug wholesalers. All this, and more, after the jump.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (March 18 – 29, 2024)
In mid-March, the FTC continued to back consumers’ right to repair, submitting a comment with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of renewing and expanding exemptions for repair in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Commission is refunding consumers who were misled into purchasing goods, making student loan payments, and charitable donations for cancer patients. In the first FTC enforcement action of its kind, a supplements company faces penalties for “hijacking” another product’s reviews as its own to boost sales. The Commission highlighted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the EnergyGuide Labeling Rule and Telemarketing Sales Rule. Members of the public are invited to join an open Commission meeting on March 21, 2024. Finally, the FTC appointed a new Administrative Law Judge, Jay L. Himes. More news on the FTC’s busy week, after the jump.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (March 11–15, 2024)
As we move forward our clocks to adjust for daylight saving time and enter the season of spring, the FTC is keeping quite busy. The FTC held multiple events, proposed various settlement orders, and issued new rules covering a host of industries and topical areas, including healthcare, privacy, and telemarketing. Most importantly, the FTC welcomed Commissioners Ferguson and Holyoak.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (February 26 – March 11, 2024)
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Doug Dziak by a voice vote to serve as a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). Mr. Dziak will be the second Republican to serve on the Commission presently joining his former boss Commissioner Peter Feldman. Notably, the Commission will once again have a full complement of five commissioners—Hoehn-Saric, Trumka, Boyle, Feldman, and Dziak. However, Commissioner Dziak’s ascendancy to the Commission will not change the balance of power as the Democratic commissioners will hold their 3-2 voting majority over the Republican commissioners.
Continue Reading Senate Confirms Dziak to CPSC; Agency Back to Five Commissioners
Europe’s biggest online fashion retailer, Zalando, recently agreed to dramatically and rapidly overhaul its sustainability marketing in the face of pressure by the European Commission. This is yet another example of why companies need to be extremely careful when making environmental claims in their advertising. Such claims are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny and activist litigation in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere around the globe.
Continue Reading Scrutiny of Green Claims is in Fashion: Zalando Forced to Overhaul Sustainability Claims
The FTC was active in privacy and security related matters this week. The agency submitted a letter to the House Judiciary Committee related to a social media platform’s data sharing practices with third-parties. It also announced a multi-million dollar settlement with a software company over its data collection and selling practices. Additionally, this week’s updates include the FTC filing an administrative complaint against a major tax preparation company for its advertising and marketing tactics. All this, and more, after the jump.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (February 19-23, 2024)
For years, cosmetics and other personal care companies have faced calls for “cleaner” products and more transparent labeling. And every day, new ingredients get added to the “naughty” list. Recently, per- and polyfluoroalkul substances (PFAS)—a group of manmade chemicals used primarily for their conditioning properties—have come under fire. Even as research indicating the dangers of PFAS is limited, the widespread use of PFAS has led to state restrictions on use in personal care products, and proposed legislation that would ban PFAS in cosmetics on a federal level.
Continue Reading PFAS Litigation: Another Headache for the Beauty Industry
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the most common types of fertility treatment, but the process is also extremely sensitive, invasive, and expensive. All of these factors come into play in a series of recent lawsuits following CooperSurgical’s December 5, 2023 recall of three lots of its embryo culture media—a substance that allows for the development of fertilized embryos. According to the company’s announcement, CooperSurgical had received a high number of customer complaints indicating that its embryo culture media caused impaired embryo development.
Continue Reading Recall Litigation Report: CooperSurgical Faces Multiple Lawsuits Following Recall of IVF Embryo Culture Media
The FTC celebrates the Valentine’s Day holiday this week by providing warnings to consumers about online romance scams. Additionally, this week’s updates include the FTC’s warnings to artificial intelligence companies regarding clauses in terms of services, a new tool to combat impersonation scams, and a judgment providing monetary relief for small businesses harmed by cash advance companies. All this, and more, after the jump.
Continue Reading FTC Updates (February 12-16, 2024)