This is PART TWO in a five part series focusing on Internet marketing and online lead generation compliance. The native advertising landscape is rapidly evolving with respect to publisher-advertiser relationships, as well as consumer perceptions of native ad products and brand interaction. Given the fact that native advertising can easily camouflage marketing messages so that … Read more
On July 14, 2015, the organization in charge of developing uniform standards for World Wide Web technologies announced the “last call” for a draft proposal on how websites should comply with a user’s “Do-Not-Track” preference. If implemented, the proposal would be the very first formal standard for DNT compliance. The proposed standard describes how service … Read more
This IS PART ONE in a five part series focusing on Internet marketing and online lead generation compliance. From weight loss and muscle building products, to skin creams and anti-aging products, the FTC Act’s prohibition on “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” encompasses online advertising, marketing and sales. Commission rules and guides are not limited … Read more
The marketers of a cognitive dietary supplement will pay $1.4 million in satisfaction of a settlement resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceived consumers with claims that the supplement was clinically proven to significantly improve memory, mood and other cognitive functions. Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants will pay $1 million to … Read more
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) has announced that a Canadian commuter airline has agreed to pay a C$150,000 ($120,162) administrative monetary penalty for failing to fully comply with Canada’s new anti-SPAM legislation (“CASL”). The settlement represents that first time that CASL has address what is considered to be a non-flagrant breach. The small-haul carrier allegedly sent some commercial … Read more
As recently written about here, FCC Chairman Wheeler recently announced a proposal to address backlogged petitions seeking clarity regarding the scope of the requirements under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The FCC has now adopted heavily-debated changes to the TCPA rules designed to strengthen consumer protections. Subject to the official release, the changes cover the definition of autodialer, … Read more
The Southern District of Alabama recently clarified that the treatment of offers for free goods and services is the same whether the call is made to a wireless number or a residential number and illustrated how a call offering free goods or services can become a “dual purpose” call. Bennett v. Boyd Biloxi, LLC (S.D. … Read more
FCC Chairman Wheeler has announced that he is circulating a proposal to address more than twenty backlogged petitions seeking clarity regarding the scope of the requirements under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). He authored a blog post on the proposal. As part of the Chairman’s proposal, the FCC would issue the following rulings: … Read more
Beginning October 16, 2013, prior express written consent became a requirement for all autodialed/pre-recorded calls and text messages, made and/or sent to cell phones, and pre-recorded calls made to residential land lines for marketing purposes. What follows is intended to be a brief refresher of relevant consent requirements and obligations under the Telephone Consumer Protection … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has filed a federal court complaint seeking to prohibit Lunada Biomedical, Inc. and its principals from advertising that their dietary supplement Amberen causes substantial weight loss for women over 40, and that the weight loss is clinically proven. Between 2010 and 2013, Lunada sold almost $65 million worth of Amberen nationwide. “Lunada … Read more
Plaintiff American Furukawa Inc. brought Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and related claims against an employee who took a job with a competitor and subsequently spent several weeks downloading corporate files. The former employee downloaded a number of files in the first week of the relevant time period, then took a leave of absence for four weeks while continuing to download … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has obtained a court order temporarily halting a California operation that allegedly used millions of illegal SPAM emails, along with bogus weight-loss claims and fake, unauthorized endorsements from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, to market its unproven diet pills. The court order halts the defendants’ illegal conduct, freezes their assets and appoints a temporary … Read more
It is no secret that dietary supplements, herbal remedies, patches, creams, wraps and products rubbed into the skin are high-profile. Weight loss offers are among the most intensely scrutinized by local, state and federal regulators, including those for garcinia cambogia. Each website must be in substantial compliance based on the specific facts and nature of … Read more
In October 2014, the California Court of Appeal ruled in a putative class action, Rosolowski et al. v. Guthy-Renker LLC, that a commercial email header does not violate California’s anti-SPAM statute “merely because it does not identify the official name of the entity which sent the email, or merely because it does not identify an … Read more