Blog

The term “FinTech” covers a lot of topics central to the FTC’s consumer protection mission – lending, payment systems, data security, privacy, and truth in advertising, to name just a few. So where can businesses go for resources on how established consumer protection standards apply in this emerging marketplace? FinTech-related materials have a new home in the Business Center: a dedicated FinTech page. If FinTech matters to your company or your...

Racing to finish your comment about proposed changes to the Safeguards Rule by the impending deadline? You can take a breather because the FTC has extended the deadline by 60 days. The Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program. As part of its ongoing review of rules and guides, the FTC proposed changes to the Rule in March 2019 and asked for your feedback. At...

The great majority of attorneys appearing before the Commission share a sense of practicing at the height of our profession. They engage with Commission staff on pressing issues of fact, antitrust law and economic theory in matters of great importance to consumers and our economy. For a few, however, there may be perceived opportunities to seek an advantage in the debate through misrepresentation of key facts. For those few, we want to remind...

Their lines of work are as different as can be: an HVAC and electrical contractor, a flooring seller, and a company that takes people on horseback rides. But according to the FTC, they have one thing in common. They all violated the Consumer Review Fairness Act. Read on for details about the FTC’s first cases solely enforcing the CRFA, the form contract provisions the FTC says contravened the law, and tips for keeping your contracts CRFA...

It’s time to get up to speed and down to business. Strictly Business: An FTC Forum on Small Business Financing begins at 8:30 ET today, Wednesday, May 8th. Just in time for National Small Business Week, the half-day workshop will focus on the online marketplace for small business financing. You can watch the webcast from the link on the event page, which will go live minutes before Strictly Business starts.

It’s National Small Business Week, a time when we celebrate the businesses that make our communities thrive. For the FTC, it’s an opportunity to let business owners know that when it comes to protecting your business from cyber threats, you’re not alone. The federal government has resources to help you address common cyber threats and create a culture of cybersecurity at your company. The materials at FTC.gov/Cybersecurity were introduced last...

Where do entrepreneurs go if they’re long on ideas, but short on capital? In their short history, crowdfunding platforms have often been the financial sparkplug that ignites the engine of innovation. But some campaigners promote zealously and deliver zilch. According to the FTC, a company raised over $800,000 in four crowdfunding campaigns for a high-tech backpack and other items, but used a large portion of the money on personal expenses...

On May 1, the Federal Trade Commission registered for the International Competition Network’s Framework for Competition Agency Procedures (CAP), making it a founding member of the ICN’s most recent initiative to promote fair and informed competition enforcement procedures around the world. The CAP is a non-binding, voluntary framework aimed at encouraging implementation of basic procedural principles, including through agency-to-agency...

Last month the FTC sent staff warning letters to eight firms advertising simulated or laboratory-created diamonds. According to the letters, the companies had promoted their products without adequately disclosing that they weren’t mined diamonds. Since then, industry members have been talking about the best ways to ensure compliance with the FTC’s Jewelry Guides, which are designed to help companies avoid confusing or deceiving consumers. We...

In written submissions to the Bureau or the Commission, be brief, be direct, and avoid repeating points made in previous papers. Wherever possible, multiple aligned parties should prepare joint submissions. Submit any written materials well in advance of a meeting—not less than three days beforehand—so the Bureau and the Commission have time to receive input from staff and consider your arguments. (Note: The first draft of this post was three...