Deputy Director of Republican Party of San Diego Scammed $50 Million to Get Trump Elected
If someone asks you to rent your FB account promising thousands of dollars in rental money to you, although it is tempting, it is an elaborate scam that was started by CEO and founder of Ads, Inc named Asher Burke in 2015 – just in time for the 2016 election season. Burke was at that … Read more
LEGAL: Review Websites Are Top FTC Enforcement Priority
In February 2019, the Federal Trade Commission brought its first case challenging fake paid reviews on an independent retail website. In settling the agency’s complaint, the company and its owner resolved allegations that they made false and unsubstantiated claims for their garcinia cambogia weight-loss supplement and that they paid a third-party website to write and … Read more
Binary Affiliate Fraudsters Charged by Feds
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed fraud charges against two affiliate marketers for binary options trading. In its complaint, the CFTC alleged that David Sechovich and Peter Szatmari, the two affiliate marketers, created and distributed millions of fraudulent solicitations to open and fund retail binary options trading accounts on websites operated by unregistered, off-exchange brokers. … Read more
New Nevada Privacy Law
Nevada’s new privacy law became effective on October 1, 2019. It provides Nevada residents with a limited right to opt out of the sale of personal information. Although a bit narrow in scope, the law possesses some similarities to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which becomes effective January 1, 2020. In short, businesses that … Read more
Feds Look at Making Negative Option Marketing Even Harder
Negative option marketing is a common form of marketing whereby the absence of affirmative consumer action constitutes consent to be charged for goods or services. Such marketing is widely used and can provide benefits to both sellers and consumers. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) believes consumers are harmed when marketers fail to make adequate … Read more
Feds Going After CBD Marketing
The explosion of cannabidiol, or CBD, products – from trendy cosmetics to dietary supplements – is catching the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). The until-very-recently little-known chemical compound currently represents a $5 billion market, according to cannabis industry research consultancy Brightfield Group, up a whopping 700% in value from last year, and unsurprisingly, brands, … Read more
FTC Launches Investigation into E-Cigarette Marketing
The Federal Trade Commission has opened a new inquiry looking at the marketing practices of six major e-cigarette manufacturers, ordering them to turn over reams of data by Jan. 2, the agency announced Thursday. The commission is requiring the companies — Juul Labs, RJ Reynolds Vapor Company, NJOY LLC, Nu Mark, Logic Technology Development and Fontem … Read more
FTC Testifies Before Congressional Subcommittees About Consumer Protection Work
In recent testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, the Federal Trade Commission described its work to protect consumers and promote competition. Testifying on behalf of the Commission, FTC attorney and Chairman Joseph Simons, along with Commissioner Rohit Chopra outlined the FTC’s work in areas that include, without limitation, privacy, … Read more
GroupM Claims $22.4 Billion in Ad Fraud
While advertisers and agencies can not by themselves eliminate dangerous and destructive content online, they do have a role to play as they also work to avoid misspending money and inviting regulations that could hurt business, GroupM said in a new report on brand safety. The giant media buyer estimates that the risk of ad … Read more
Seventh Circuit Drops Bomb on FTC
As previously blogged about here, the FTC’s enforcement authority has been under attack. The agency authority to obtain disgorgement under a theory of “ancillary equitable relief” got clipped by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. What’s more, the court ignored long-standing precedent in doing so. The issue is this. Does the FTC … Read more