Blog

If you use consumer testimonials in your ads or have clients who do, check out the FTC’s settlement with Jason Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of the diet company, Medifast, Inc. But to really explore what the case is about, we’ll need to take a trip back to 1992. (Sorry -- we should have asked our UK consumer protection counterparts to let us borrow the TARDIS for this.) 1992 is when the FTC settled a case with Jason for allegedly deceptive weight...

Earlier this year, the FTC settled five law enforcement actions against companies making allegedly deceptive energy savings claims for their replacement windows. Now the FTC has sent letters to 14 window manufacturers and one window glass manufacturer, warning that they may be making unsupported energy savings representations for their products. According to the letters, FTC staff saw some statement on the companies’ websites that looked a lot...

The FTC’s multimillion dollar settlement involving the Ab Circle Pro exercise device is great news for consumers. But what does it say to businesses? Inc.-orporate compliance. Yes, there are good reasons why business people incorporate their ventures, but that “Inc.” after a company’s name doesn’t shield you from individual liability under the FTC Act. In appropriate cases, the FTC will name key players to make sure an order will be effective in...

If you haven’t heard of the Ab Circle Pro, you need to spend more time in your recliner. Between the infomercial blitz, the online presence, and a retail campaign that promoted the product with a prominent “As Seen on TV” logo, ads were everywhere. The marketers claimed that using the device for just three minutes a day would lead to a 10-pound weight loss in two weeks and inches off the stomach, hips, and thighs — benefits equal to or better...

Whether you’re a full-pads athlete or a quarterback of the Monday morning variety, you’ve read reports about sports-related concussions. But before marketing a product advertised to reduce the risk of those injuries, businesses should take a careful look at the FTC’s settlement with Pennsylvania-based Brain-Pad, Inc. Brain-Pad markets mouth guards with the promise that they'll provide protection from concussions. Ads say the products will...

After two weeks of talk about track, the trending topic is track ing, including the FTC’s $22.5 million settlement with Google for violating an earlier order. Google told users of the Safari browser it wouldn’t place tracking cookies or serve them targeted ads, but the FTC charged that the company’s tracking practices went far afield of its claims. Of course, the terms of that settlement apply just to Google, but there’s a lot savvy executives...

There’s been a lot of talk about breaking records these past few weeks. But here’s one you won’t see on the sports pages: the FTC’s $22.5 million settlement with Google, the largest civil penalty ever against a single defendant. The penalty stems from FTC charges that Google didn’t give users of Apple’s Safari Internet browser the straight story about the use of tracking cookies. That, says the FTC, violated the terms of Google’s 2011 privacy...

Most job seekers are familiar with the basics: Wear a clean shirt, extend a firm handshake, and don’t ask about vacations in the first 10 minutes of the interview. But these days more businesses are digging deeper. Tulsa-based HireRight Solutions is a background screening company that thousands of employers use to check out current employees and people applying for jobs. When it comes to Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance, the FTC says...

HR could use better PR. Say "human resources" and some people think of Dunder Mifflin’s joy-deficient Toby Flenderson from "The Office." But you know better and appreciate the job your HR team does to keep your organization up and running. They're also a critical line of defense between your company and the onslaught of data thieves and scammers. The BCP Business Center has a special page to make their job a little easier. Why should HR be a part...

People who signed up with the Jacksonville-based Alcoholism Cure Corporation were promised a “scientifically proven” program that “cures alcoholism while allowing alcoholics to drink socially.” What they got was a shopping list, instructions to take handfuls of unproven supplements, and a particularly troubling surprise when they tried to cancel their membership. A recent ruling by a federal judge upheld FTC and Florida AG allegations that when...