Blog

Phileas Fogg was famous for going around the world in 80 days, but when it comes to global commerce, consumers can manage the same feat with just one click. Recent FTC actions touch on the international implications of consumer protection. SecurTest is a Florida-based background screening company that claimed to participate in the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield programs. Privacy Shield establishes a process to allow companies to transfer...

The state seal of Utah famously depicts a beehive, a symbol of industry and cooperation. Industry and cooperation also have been the hallmarks of the long-standing relationship between the FTC and the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection. That’s why we’re proud to announce that the Division is th e latest recipient of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Partner Award. Under the leadership of Francine Giani, Executive...

Crafting effective merger remedies is one of the Commission’s most important tasks. Done well, a divestiture prevents the competitive harm likely to result from a proposed merger and ensures that competition remains as robust as it was premerger. Once Bureau staff has identified the likely harm from a proposed or consummated merger and the parties express interest in avoiding litigation by agreeing to a settlement, our attention quickly turns to...

In just a few years, the FTC’s PrivacyCon has become an Information All-Star Game, complete with panels as high-flying or power-hitting as the Slam Dunk Contest or Home Run Derby. (OK. High-flying and power-hitting if you’re a researcher, academic, or advocate interested in data security and consumer privacy.) The FTC just announced the agenda for the fourth annual PrivacyCon on June 27, 2019. Consult your calendar and save the date. FTC Chairman...

The domino principle. The ripple effect. The butterfly phenomenon. Apply the analogy of your choice to describe what happens when one software developer’s allegedly lax security practices result in the breach of confidential customer information maintained by multiple businesses that use the software. If your business is a service provider – or if your company uses third-party service providers to help manage your data – a proposed FTC settlement...

The FTC and FDA just sent warning letters to four sellers of e-liquids, the nicotine-laced liquid used in vaping. But even if you don’t have clients in that industry, keep reading. The letters have a lot to say about social media marketing and influencers, regardless of the products they pitch. What kind of ads do the warning letters address? That’s where it gets interesting. The FDA and FTC sent the letters to companies whose flavored e-liquids...

Humphrey Bogart said it in “The African Queen” and it was a catchphrase popularized by Jon Lovitz on “Saturday Night Live.” But to the FTC, That’s the Ticket is the name of a June 11, 2019, workshop to explore consumer protection issues related to online ticket sales – and the agenda is out now. Consumers who try to buy tickets online to a concert, theatrical performance, or sporting event have often expressed frustration with the process. That’s...

Moon Unit Zappa’s 1982 song “Valley Girl” popularized the phrase “gag me with a spoon.” We doubt the lyric “gag me with a form contract clause” would have been a hit, but it’s among the tactics expressly outlawed by the Consumer Review Fairness Act. As two proposed settlements demonstrate, the FTC thinks gag clauses and similar non-disparagement provisions that violate the CRFA are – to quote Ms. Zappa – grody to the max. People using a popular...

June 1st marks the start of hurricane season, but weather emergencies can happen anytime. The FTC encourages businesses to have a plan in place to safeguard your facilities, products, and data. And we’ve just introduced new resources aimed at helping you protect your workforce. Like your business, your employees need to prepare for extreme conditions – a task best undertaken when skies are sunny. Helping them formulate a personal plan can save...

Last week, Bureau of Competition staff published a report on filings received in fiscal year (FY) 2016 under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), the thirteenth such report since the MMA took effect in 2004. These reports identify the frequency of pharmaceutical patent settlements and specific types of provisions that appear in such settlements. Comparing the data in these reports with developments in...