Blog

Longfellow said “It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.” We agree, especially when it comes to designing effective merger remedies—ones that maintain competition at pre-merger levels so that the merger does not lead to higher prices, lower quality, or reduced innovation. From the perspective of the Bureau of Competition and the Commission, getting it right takes time. The Bureau and the Commission review the...

When an emergency strikes, your business’s most vulnerable asset may not be in the stockroom or warehouse. It could be the data that has been central to your success. September is National Preparedness Month. The FTC has six steps you can take to help protect your company’s information from the unpredictable. Conduct an information inventory. While the skies are sunny, take an inventory of the data critical to your business – customer lists...

Thinking about replacing a company car or truck? Unless you take some security steps before selling the vehicle, you could be leaving behind a water bottle or two, some change under the seat – and a massive amount of corporate and personal data. Systems in newer cars do a great job keeping you and your employees connected while on the road. But like laptops and smartphones, your company cars may be storing more information than you realize – data...

Food experts don’t recommend it for your ground chuck or pork shoulder, but starting September 21, 2018, there’s something consumers can safely freeze, unfreeze, and then freeze again. It’s their credit file. Thanks to a new federal law – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – consumers will be able to contact each of the three major credit reporting agencies and direct them to place a free freeze on the consumer’s...

The Bureau of Competition has undertaken several initiatives to streamline our merger review process in order to reach swifter resolutions—whether that be clearance, a negotiated settlement, or a lawsuit. As part of these efforts, we are announcing a new Model Timing Agreement for the Bureau’s merger reviews. New FTC Model Timing Agreement Merger investigations commonly involve timing agreements, which—among other things—provide an agreed-upon...

The marketers behind a purported money-making promotion called Sellers Playbook appear to have skipped the chapter about complying with federal and state consumer protection laws. That’s the allegation in a complaint filed by the FTC and the Minnesota Attorney General. In addition, it’s the FTC’s first case charging violations of the Consumer Review Fairness Act. The roots of the allegations go back to another venture sued by the FTC earlier this...

Whether it’s a slimmer waist or an imaginary yacht superimposed in the background, we’re all familiar with the dramatic changes that retouching can make to a photo. A lawsuit the FTC has filed against Tate’s Auto Group and related companies alleges – among other things – that the defendants substantial ly “retouch ed” the financial circumstances of customers trying to finance cars. The defendants are four affiliated auto dealers in New Mexico and...

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. But the same can’t be said for a mailer that looks like an official invoice. It could be an “o- fishy-al” offer that deceptively mimics the appearance of a government document. A case filed by the FTC and the Florida Attorney General challenges the practice of sending mailers that allegedly create the false impression that small businesses are required to buy labor regulation...

July is Military Consumer Month, so it’s the perfect time to consider the unique challenges of America’s military members and their families. Among the many sacrifices made by military families are frequent relocations, typically every 2 or 3 years. Moving to a new duty station often means that the member’s spouse must find a new job in a new state. For spouses who need a state-issued license to work, each move can involve paperwork, fees, and...

This will be the day That you will hear me say Read the F-R-N Without delay. That’s not quite how Prince opened his 1991 classic “Diamonds and Pearls.” But if your company sells diamonds and pearls – or is otherwise involved in the jewelry business – you need to know about a Federal Register Notice announcing final revisions to what are now called the FTC’s Jewelry Guides. (They d on’t have a cryptic symbol, but we like to think of them as the C...