Sanford Wallace, Las Vegas Club Promoter and former mass spammer, known as one of the “Spam Kings,” is going to prison. Wallace, 47 has pled guilty to sending 27 million messages to Facebook users, by hacking into their accounts and then tricking other users into sending their password. Since he has plead guilty, he faces … Read more
The FTC has recently filed court orders against 18 marketers who were cheating US and Canadian consumers out of more than $7 related to a shady ‘work-at-home’ deal. The defendants conned many consumers into believing that they were going to be able to make money from home by simply referring local merchants to a money-lending … Read more
South African Businessman, Avrom Lasarow has reached a settlement with the FTC over a suite of apps that claimed to be able to help diagnose whether moles on the skin are cancerous or not. The FTC claims that the claims made when marketing or promoting the app were false or unsubstantiated. In the settlement, Lasarow … Read more
Electronic Media Marketing Group (EMMG), based in Upper Montclair, New Jersey has been ordered to pay $190,000 in penalties by a federal court in Arkansas. In addition, they are banned from operating in Arkansas going forward. In the case, the firm was accused of billing businesses for online advertising that had not been previously authorized. … 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
In a case that has been going on since back in 2012, Google has gotten what appears to be a final decision from Federal district court Judge, Paul Singh Grewal. The plaintiffs were hoping to get class action status based on their accusations that Google was gathering data and using it across multiple divisions as … 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
If you were at the recent Affiliate Summit West, you may have been lucky enough to attend the presentation by former FTC attorney, William Rothbard. He gave a presentation titled, “Tips from an FTC Pro: How to be Smart and Avoid FTC Hell.” The presentation went over a number of different topics related to affiliate … Read more
Amazon.com recently had a trademark lawsuit brought against it, saying that their search results can create ‘initial interest confusion.’ The case was won by the plaintiff initially, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has sent it back for another look because they found that ‘a jury could find that Amazon had created a likelihood … 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
“Risk Free Trials” have always been a popular way to bring in new customers for some industries. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently put an end to that for a group of skincare marketers in California, at least for now. The FTC worked with a federal district court to put a temporary ban on … 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
In the latest legal trouble for tech giants in the EU, Facebook is facing investigations and now a lawsuit from the Belgian Privacy Authority. They are alleging that the practice of cookie-based tracking for non-Facebook European users through social buttons or plug-ins is violating their privacy. There are other complaints as well cited in the … Read more