Focusing on engagement with the public and other agencies, the FTC had its hands full last week commenting on regulations and hosting events on hot-button issues like the impact of AI on creative industries and the July 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines. More on these actions, as well as an update on student debt related actions, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Blog Updates Oct 2-Oct 6

The FTC is in feedback-seeking mode, looking for input on topics ranging from the draft Merger Guidelines to privacy. The agency also collaborated with the CFPB on an amicus brief regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and entered into a cooperation agreement with several Latin American countries. More on this, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 25-29, 2023)

Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer) is the latest in a long line of companies to be hit with a consumer class action lawsuit over recalled personal care products containing benzene—a carcinogen found in a variety of consumer products, including most notoriously, aerosol deodorant, sunscreen, and dry shampoo.

Continue Reading Recall Litigation Report: Benzene Continues To Be A Hot Button Issue

More than two years after consumers across the country first started filing suit against Philips Respironics (Philips) over certain recalled sleep apnea devices, the company announced that it has reached an agreement to pay $479 million to compensate consumers. Philips voluntarily recalled several different models of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilateral positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines and ventilators back in June 2021. In the months that followed, Philips was inundated with lawsuits by consumers, which alleged that Philips knew about the serious risk of injury posed by its recalled devices long before any public announcement. Hundreds of consumer-facing lawsuits were ultimately consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in In re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Liability Litigation.

Continue Reading Recall Litigation Report: Philips Reaches Settlement in CPAP/BiPAP MDL

On September 28, 2023, EPA released a long-anticipated final rule aimed at gathering information on products in commerce that contain PFAS chemicals.  As defined in the regulation, the term “PFAS” includes a group of materials known as fluoropolymers, which are widely used in gaskets, tubing, electrical wiring, composite materials, printed circuit boards, membranes and many other manufactured articles.  Under EPA’s new regulation, any company that has imported any of these types of articles containing fluoropolymers (or any other PFAS chemical) at any time since 2011 will be required to submit extensive information to EPA regarding those products and activities.  The pre-publication version of the final rule can be found here.

Continue Reading Importers of Equipment, Machinery and Electronics Beware: You’re Probably Subject to EPA’s New PFAS Regulation

As the summer closes and fall arrives, the FTC has been busy resolving a variety of actions within both the Bureau of Consumer Protection and Bureau of Competition, related to either purported false advertising or anticompetitive mergers. This and more, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (August 28 – September 8, 2023)

In March, we reported on the proposed safety standards issued by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) under Reese’s Law (P.L. 117-171)—a law aimed at protecting children 6 years of age and younger from the hazards of ingesting button cell and coin batteries.  

Continue Reading The Two Final Rules That Implement Reese’s Law

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) establishes a number of new requirements for the cosmetics industry. Among other things, facilities that manufacture and process cosmetics in the U.S. will need to be registered with the FDA, and companies that manufacture cosmetics will need to submit a list of all cosmetics (and their ingredients) to the FDA.

Continue Reading FDA Seeks Comments on COSMETICS Direct for MoCRA Facility Registration and Product Listing

After a slower start in August, the FTC has been busy with actions taken to protect everyday consumers who have been the victims of organized schemes intended to mislead them. The FTC also announced the appointment of a new Director of the Bureau of Competition This and more, after the jump.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (August 7-25, 2023)

Consumer-driven lawsuits that follow a product recall often focus on what the company knew, when it knew it, and how it acted in response. And for companies who are hoping to avoid such a lawsuit, one of the biggest questions is what do they need to disclose to consumers and how far does that obligation reach? Certainly, companies cannot disclose what they did not know, and manufacturers are not required to warn for every conceivable risk, regardless of how remote. A recent class action, Gurkov v. Real Kosher Ice Cream Inc., No. 1:23-cv-06128 (E.D.N.Y Aug. 14, 2023), brings these issues into focus.

Continue Reading Recall Litigation Report: Real Kosher Ice Cream Sued Over Listeria Contamination