President Trump has chosen Joseph J. Simons, a renowned antitrust lawyer that has represented tech giants like Microsoft, to lead the Federal Trade Commission. Simons previously led the competition bureau of the FTC during the George W. Bush administration. Noah Phillips – chief counsel for Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rohit Chopra – a fellow … Read more
The FTC has announced that the operators of two alleged tech support scams have agreed to settle agency charges that they deceived consumers into believing their computers were infected with viruses and malware, and then charged them hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs. As set forth in the complaints, the defendants allegedly contacted consumers through … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission is providing additional guidance on how the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule applies to the collection of audio voice recordings by organizations covered by the law, which requires certain operators of commercial websites or online services to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. The FTC updated … Read more
Earlier this week, a New York federal judge dismissed a highly-publicized Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General action against Quincy Bioscience, targeting claims regarding the jellyfish-protein supplement Prevagen. The issue in this matter was the clinical trial that Quincy conducted to substantiate the efficacy of the product. While the trial showed no difference … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that social media influencers that are widely followed in the online gaming community have settled charges that they deceptively endorsed the online gambling service, CSGO Lotto, while failing to disclose they jointly owned the company. According to the FTC, beginning in late 2015, the respondents operated and advertised the … Read more
While many surmised that the new administration might bring with it less stringent regulatory scrutiny, the Federal Trade Commission is showing no signs of taking its foot off the gas when it comes to enforcing the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. In fact, the FTC continues to expand its enforcement of ROSCA into numerous industries … Read more
Nevada recently became the third state to enact legislation requiring website operators and online service providers to post a privacy policy. The California law was passed in 2004 and Delaware’s in 2016. Senate Bill No. 538 mandates that, commencing on October 1, 2017, websites and other online services must make available, in a manner reasonably … Read more
On July 17, 2017, Federal Trade Commission Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen announced several internal process reforms in the Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection that are intended to streamline information requests and improve transparency in FTC investigations. “It is our duty to carry out our vital mission in the most effective and efficient way possible,” … Read more
The United States Department of Justice has recently released the details surrounding the sentencing of an individual for his rule in processing unauthorized withdrawals of millions of dollars from consumer bank accounts. Neil Godfrey was sentenced to serve fifteen months in prison by Judge Eduardo Robreno in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Robreno also … Read more
On June 23, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the remaining defendants behind a “massive landline cramming operation” agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they placed more than $70 million in unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone bills. The settlements with defendants Steven Sann, Terry Lane and the corporate defendants who allegedly operated … Read more
According to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, a Latvian man made his initial appearance earlier this month in Minneapolis following extradition from Poland for his involvement in an alleged “scareware” hacking scheme that targeted the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s website and caused millions of dollars in losses to Internet users. Peteris Sahurovs a/k/a “Piotrek” a/k/a … Read more
As previously blogged about, here, a private right of action for violations of Canada’s Anti-SPAM law was to go into effect as of July 1, 2017. Earlier this month, however, the Canadian government announced that it has suspended the implementation of the private right of action provision, and that it will not come into effect … Read more
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently granted summary judgment in favor or Bayer HealthCare LLC in a consumer class action over efficacy claims relating to its probiotic dietary supplement. Read more, here. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal on May 17, 2017. The District Court judge held that “[in] … Read more
Last week Google confirmed intentions to add a Chrome feature designed by default to block certain types of advertisements. In doing so, Google has stated that it will work with publishers to understand the new built-in “filtering” standards and reporting tools. Websites that violate pre-determined acceptability thresholds will simply not have any advertisements displayed. Non-qualifying … Read more