Blog Posts Tagged with Online Advertising and Marketing

In the 2014 movie Ex Machina, a robot manipulates someone into freeing it from its confines, resulting in the person being confined instead. The robot was designed to manipulate that person’s emotions...

When consumers dispute the validity of a credit card charge, merchants may hire a “chargeback mitigation company” to dispute the consumer’s dispute. That’s the business of a company called...

To borrow a phrase the Supreme Court coined in a different context, if there is a “fixed star” in the consumer protection constellation, it’s the advertising substantiation doctrine. In place for...

Spend time on social media and video streaming platforms and what will you find? Photos from friends’ vacations, aspirational kale salads, the latest dance fads – and ads for bogus health products...

You may have heard of simulation theory, the notion that nothing is real and we’re all part of a giant computer program. Let’s assume at least for the length of this blog post that this notion is...

It’s for sure you’ve seen ads like this online and in social media. They use a litany of iffy claims to advertise equally questionable products: “drop the pounds” diet pills, IQ-boosting brain...

The announcement of the launch of the FTC’s Office of Technology is an important next-step development in the agency’s commitment to protecting consumers in the digital marketplace. As we look forward...

Regardless of which of the many remakes of “Mutiny on the Bounty” you’ve seen, they all involve an illegal takeover. Challenging a practice called review hijacking, an FTC complaint against The...

“If you’re nearsighted, farsighted, or have an astigmatism, LasikPlus can help fix your vision for only $250.” That’s just one example of how LCA-Vision – consumers may know the company as LasikPlus...

The FTC’s $275 million proposed settlement with Epic Games, owner of Fortnite, alleges the company violated the law by collecting personal information from kids under 13 without parental consent and...

Two separate settlements with Epic Games, owner of the massively popular online game Fortnite, send the unmistakable message to business that the FTC means business when it comes to enforcing online...

Ask someone to picture the typical person who has experienced a scam and they may think of an older consumer taken in by a fast-talking fraudster. Regardless of the image they create, the results of...

It’s rare that we’d liken an FTC complaint to a pizza with the works or an everything bagel, but the breadth of violations alleged in the FTC’s action against DK Automation, Kevin David Hulse, David...

Every year countless people are bilked by impersonation scams. Since 2018, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network has received approximately 3 million reports of impersonation scams citing losses of more...

Who can forget the eerie admonition about Hotel California: “You can check out any time you like. But you can never leave.” It’s a feeling that may have been echoed by people who attempted to cancel...

Halloween is the perfect time to stream your favorite horror flick, but nothing comes close to the spine-tingling fright inflicted by businesses that fail to honor established consumer protection...

As the FTC observed in enacting the Funeral Rule, “A funeral is more than a social ritual: it is also an expensive consumer purchase.” But unlike other major expenditures, “Decisions must often be...

Today’s the day the FTC will convene Protecting Kids from Stealth Advertising in Digital Media and you can watch the webcast live. Chair Khan will lead off the virtual proceedings at 9:00 AM Eastern...

Companies are increasingly marketing payment plans known as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Although BNPL plans vary in their exact terms, people typically pay for purchases over a period of several weeks...

What marketing techniques do kids, including teens, encounter in the various digital spaces they frequent? And what do we know about their cognitive abilities at different ages and developmental...