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Remember Saturday Night Live’s “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman”? When the host got verklempt, she suggested a paradoxical conversation starter – “The chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea,” “Rhode Island is neither a road nor an island,” “The Partridge Family is neither a partridge nor a family” – always ending with the catchphrase “Discuss amongst yourselves.” According to an FTC lawsuit, many of the personal care products a Miami company...

On her Control album, Janet Jackson posed the musical question, “What have you done for me lately?” It’s a fair question for small businesses to ask the FTC and the most recent answer would be “ Sent 29,333 refund checks averaging $396 and totaling $11.6 million to companies and nonprofits tricked into paying invoices – unvoices, really – for merchandise they didn’t order.” While we’re on the subject, there is something you can do for charities...

Every spring at colleges across the country, many graduates receive a diploma in their hand – and an albatross around their neck. The burden of student loan debt weighs heavily on American families. And given the pressures on cash-strapped employees, businesses say they’re paying a price in productivity. The FTC has brought numerous cases against companies that pitch deceptive student loan “debt relief.” Actions announced by the FTC and the...

Companies and consumers are talking in a different way these days about cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant. But even as the conversation changes, one thing remains the same. Before making claims about purported health effects of CBD products, advertisers need sound science to support their statements. That’s the message of warning letters FTC staff just sent to three businesses that sell oils, creams, capsules...

Do consumers notice consumer class action notices? That’s one of the topics that experts will discuss at an upcoming FTC workshop on issues related to communicating with consumers about class actions. Set for October 29, 2019, in Washington, DC, Consumers and Class Action Notices: An FTC Workshop will feature panelists from a wide range of perspectives exploring what the research suggests about notice methods, claims rates, and redress – and what...

Had you asked yesterday, we would have said the largest financial remedy for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule was $5.7 million. Today’s $170 million total monetary judgment against YouTube and its parent company Google raises the stakes when it comes to COPPA compliance. Filed jointly with the New York Attorney General’s Office, the record-breaking FTC settlement offers three primary takeaways for other companies...

For businesses that choose to participate, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework establishes a process to allow them to transfer consumer data from European Union countries to the United States in compliance with EU law. In return, companies must follow the framework’s requirements. The FTC has announced proposed settlements with companies that claimed to participate and yet failed to complete the steps necessary to get certification from the...

Colleges are known for team sports, but it’s an unfortunate fact that consumer deception can be a team sport, too. A proposed FTC settlement with Career Education Corporation, American InterContinental University, Colorado Technical University, and related defendants alleges they used illegal game plans to lure consumers to their post-secondary and vocational schools. MVP “teammates” in the deceptive venture were lead generators who duped...

We like to think of September 26th as a notable date in consumer protection history. On that day in 1914, the Federal Trade Commission opened its doors. And on that day in 2019, the FTC will convene a workshop on Made in the USA claims. “Made in the USA” has become a staple in advertising, on products, and on packaging. Based on public hearings, consumer perception research, and thousands of comments from interested parties, the FTC issued its...

We tell businesses it’s wise to disclose prices clearly. So it’s only right that we follow our own advice. Before calling consumers, telemarketers must “scrub” their lists against the National Do Not Call Registry to make sure they don’t call people who have registered their numbers. The first five area codes are free, but after that, businesses pay a fee. Certain groups are exempt from the fee – for example, some charitable organizations. We...