MilConsumer Blog Feed

In the past few months, the FTC has announced case after case involving consumers’ sensitive health data, alleging violations of both Section 5 of the FTC Act and the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule. The privacy of health information is top of mind for consumers – and so it’s top of mind for the FTC. Companies collecting or using health data, listen up. There are a number of key messages from BetterHelp, GoodRx, Premom, Vitagene, and other FTC matters that you need to hear.

We usually don’t recommend reading other people’s mail, but even if you weren’t one of the approximately 130 companies that received a recent joint letter from the FTC and HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), anyone in the health arena – hospitals, other HIPAA-covered entities, telehealth providers, health app developers, etc. – should take the letter to heart and consider a privacy and security check-up at their business.

For the millions of Americans struggling to reduce their alcohol intake or stop drinking altogether, a product called Sobrenix sounded like the answer. But according to the FTC, defendants Rejuvica LLC and corporate officers Kyle Armstrong and Kyle Dilger made numerous unsubstantiated representations and falsely claimed to have clinical proof that didn’t really exist, in violation of both the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act and the FTC Act. What’s more, the complaint alleges they made deceptive use of endorsements – both by having paid endorsers make TV appearances designed to look like independent news stories, but that were actually paid advertising and by creating a phony “review” website. The proposed settlement includes a financial remedy that will return money to consumers.

It’s not often that something can be stated with absolute certainty, but here goes: People hate illegal robocalls. No one knows that more than the FTC, which is why we’ve brought 167 cases to date and we won’t stop until companies that violate the FTC Act and the Telemarking Sales Rule hang up once and for all. In the latest battle against these illegal and injurious intrusions, the FTC and over 100 federal and state partners have announced Operation Stop Scam Calls, a nationwide crackdown involving over 180 actions against operations responsible for billions of illegal calls.

When it comes to law enforcement action against unlawful conduct in the cryptocurrency marketplace, the temperature is rising, according to a proposed FTC settlement with crypto platform Celsius Network and a pending complaint against its former corporate officers. The make-no-mistake message for others in the industry: Don’t believe that “wild west” talk. Your sector may be novel, but established FTC consumer protection standards apply to you with full force.

Ask people about the records they consider the most private and they may say personal health data. (If they misunderstand the question, they may mention disco singles they bought in junior high – but perhaps that’s just us.) Of course, say “health privacy” and many people think of HIPAA – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Did you know that some entities that hold or interact with consumers’ personal health records aren’t...

You think a franchise may be for you. You can’t wait to cut that ribbon and get your business up and running. But to avoid a false start, it makes sense to spend more time in the starting block. This post – the fourth in the FTC’s Franchise Fundamentals series – covers key steps to take before you’re off to the races: 1) carefully evaluating critical documents that may (or may not) be attached to the Franchise Disclosure Document, 2) scrutinizing...

A common trope crossing the science fiction and mystery genres is a human detective paired with a robot. Think I, Robot , based on the novels of Isaac Asimov, or Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. , a show-within-a-show familiar to Friends fans. For our purposes, consider a short-lived TV series called Holmes & Yoyo , in which a detective and his android partner try to solve crimes despite Yoyo’s constant malfunctions. Let’s take from this example the...

We’ve seen a lot of products in our day, but six companies that just received joint FTC-FDA cease and desist letters have earned a place in our “What The Heck Were They Thinking?” Pantheon. What did they do to merit that dubious distinction? According to the two agencies, the companies currently market edibles containing Delta-8 THC (yeah, that THC) with packaging and advertising that mimic the look of candy and snack brands popular with children...

The Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act gives the FTC authority to seek civil penalties for unfair or deceptive advertising of products or services marketed to treat substance use disorders – and that includes addiction to tobacco. The FTC just announced a settlement with affiliated companies selling products under the “Smoke Away” brand and the man behind all those LLCs, Michael J. Connors . Do those names sound familiar? They should...