MilConsumer Blog Feed

Some people call it the “Oz Effect” – the bump in consumer demand after a product or ingredient is featured on the The Dr. Oz Show. In a just-announced settlement, the FTC says defendants Lindsey Duncan, Pure Health LLC, and Genesis Today, Inc., took advantage of that phenomenon by deceptively touting the purported weight loss benefits of green coffee bean extract . The complaint recounts how defendant Duncan fueled a diet craze. The story has it...

We often get questions about how the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act applies in the school setting. The COPPA Rule gives parents control over what information “an operator of a Web site or online service” – yes, that includes apps – can collect from their kids under 13. Among other things, COPPA requires entities covered by the law to notify parents and get their approval before they collect, use, or disclose personal information from...

As discussed in a previous blog post , trade association members are subject to the same antitrust rules of the road as other companies or individuals who happen to be competitors. That means no price fixing, bid rigging, customer allocation or market division allowed, because these types of agreements are so plainly harmful that courts have condemned them as per se violations of the antitrust laws. Outside of the per se illegal category, other...

Silence may be golden, but not for the parents of kids with speech disorders. Illinois-based NourishLife marketed two dietary supplements, Speak and Speak Smooth, advertised as the answer for kids with a broad range of speech disorders, including those associated with autism. But the FTC says the company’s claims were long on talk and short on scientific substantiation. According to the FTC , NourishLife and owner Mark Nottoli claimed their...

“$1 gets you out of your current loan or lease!” According to Trophy Nissan in the Dallas area, consumers could end their loan or lease for a buck – less than the cost of one of those air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. Trophy also promised to “match your tax refund so you can use it for a down payment!” Those are just two of the claims the FTC challenged as deceptive in a proposed settlement with the dealership. If you have clients...

The FTC’s status as an independent agency, secured in an early constitutional challenge to the FTC Act, was tested during the early years of the Cold War when the agency’s international work provoked a national security debate at the highest levels. Students of constitutional history may recall that the Supreme Court in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States , 295 U.S. 602 (1935), determined that the President does not have the authority to fire...