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Business Blog

A closer look at the Myspace Order: Part 2

Lesley Fair
Social network site Myspace promised users it wouldn’t share their personally identifiable information in a way that was inconsistent with the reason people provided the info, without first notifying
Business Blog

FTC's Myspace case: Part 1

Lesley Fair
Have you reviewed your company’s privacy policy lately? The FTC’s proposed settlement with social network Myspace serves as a timely reminder to make sure what you tell people about your privacy
Technology Blog

Does Hashing Make Data “Anonymous”?

Ed Felten, Chief Technologist
One of the most misunderstood topics in privacy is what it means to provide “anonymous” access to data. One often hears references to “hashing” as a way of rendering data anonymous. As it turns out
Business Blog

Nightmare on Main Street

Lesley Fair
With a company name like Broadway Global Master, you might expect high kicks and jazz hands. The defendants told a dramatic story, all right — but according to the FTC, it was a harrowing tale of
Business Blog

Data security & COPPA: RockYou like a hurricane

Lesley Fair
Are there hotter topics these days than data security and kids’ privacy? An FTC law enforcement settlement with the social networking site RockYou ticks both of those topical boxes and challenges a
Business Blog

Network news

Lesley Fair
Through a series of recent law enforcement actions, the FTC has articulated what should be apparent: that truth-in-advertising principles apply to affiliate marketers and to the companies that use
Business Blog

Buyers burned by BurnLounge

Lesley Fair
If you or your clients work in the multi-level marketing (MLM) arena, a decision by a federal judge in the FTC's lawsuit against BurnLounge, Inc., merits your attention. The defendants — the company
Business Blog

FTC to auto dealers: Back up your ad claims

Lesley Fair
If you have clients in the auto industry, you’ve seen the ads: “We’ll pay off your trade no matter what you owe . . . even if you’re upside down.” It’s an attractive claim to people struggling with
Business Blog

Faking news

Steve Wernikoff
Six online marketers have settled FTC charges stemming from their use of fake news websites to market acai berry supplements and other weight loss products. If you’re an affiliate marketer or you’re
Business Blog

Watch what you're doing with time-barred debts

Lesley Fair
Of course, people are responsible for their debts. However, at a certain point, how much time has passed becomes an affirmative defense under state law and creditors can’t prevail in court. But what
Business Blog

Clearing out our IN box

Lesley Fair
We’re glad you’re visiting the BCP Business Center and thanks for your questions. Here are answers to some of your AQs . (Calling them FAQs on a site devoted to truth in advertising doesn’t seem quite
Business Blog

Dollars to donuts

Lesley Fair
When consumers comparison shop, cost is crucial. That’s why it’s so important for companies to make sure what they say about their prices is accurate. If businesses need a timely reminder, the FTC’s
Business Blog

Collection and protection

Lesley Fair
The terms of an FTC settlement apply just to that business, of course. But clued-in companies know there’s a lot that can be learned from someone else’s alleged misstep. The FTC’s law enforcement
Business Blog

Science, reliance, and compliance

Lesley Fair
The FTC v. Lane Labs story started with shark cartilage and the latest chapter involves a contempt ruling from a federal judge. If the FTC’s advertising substantiation doctrine is relevant to your
Business Blog

FTC v. Kevin Trudeau: The Seventh Circuit Rules

Lesley Fair
As anyone who’s watched TV in the past decade knows, Kevin Trudeau is — to use the term coined by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit — an “infomercialist.” The Seventh Circuit
Business Blog

COPPA: All skidding aside

Lesley Fair
It billed itself as “Facebook and Myspace for kids,” but according to a settlement with the FTC, the Skid-e-Kids website failed to meet critical compliance obligations under COPPA , the Children’s