As fall approaches, the FTC continues to enforce actions on the consumer protection front against deceptive practices in the cash advance, e-commerce, and telemarketing sectors. All this, and more, after the jump.Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 16-27, 2024)
The FTC focused its week on consumer protection. The Commission announced a tentative agenda for its upcoming open meeting, sent warning letters to adoption intermediaries for purportedly misleading consumers, and issued refunds to consumers deceived by 1Health.io about its privacy and security practices. More on these stories after the jump.Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 9 – 13, 2024)
The FTC’s activity this week centers around data analysis. The agency released reports analyzing Bitcoin ATM scam data, followed by a report compiling issues with income disclosure statements from multi-level marketing (“MLM”) businesses. The Commission also sent a report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on its activity related to fighting debt collection-related fraud against consumers. More information on these stories after the jump.Continue Reading FTC Updates (September 2-6, 2024)
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”
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)
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.
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)
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)
The first week of June brought two votes on final rules from the FTC, including the Amplifier Rule and Racetrack Safety Rule. Further, the FTC finalized a proposed settlement and consumer redress regarding Lurn, Inc.’s deceptive advertisings. All this and more after the jump:Continue Reading FTC Updates (June 3-7, 2024)
The FTC rounded out May by providing its annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, highlighting the Commission’s efforts related to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Consumer Leasing Act (CLA), and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA).Continue Reading FTC Updates (May 27-31, 2024)