Consumer Alerts

Certificates of Existence, Status, or Good Standing – sounds like an existential crisis, right? Instead of a philosophical commentary on the meaning of life, the certificates in question refer to

They say hindsight is 20/20, but what about foresight? We’re not ones to prognosticate, but a look at notable FTC cases and initiatives from the past year suggests some topics likely to be top of mind

When Chairman Simons and I arrived at the FTC, one of our first priorities was to strengthen the FTC’s orders in data security cases. We’ve already made three major changes that improve data security

In conjunction with the recent Accuracy in Consumer Reporting workshop, the FTC and CFPB have asked for public comments. The agencies are looking for feedback about issues affecting the accuracy of

Far be it from us to compete with a certain celebrity’s Favorite Things. But with gift-giving season upon us, here are our favorite things – and you can’t beat the price. For Mom. Moms can be

Everyone wants to save money at the pump. And no one wants to cut fuel costs more than companies – including many small businesses – that are in the trucking industry or have company cars. The FTC

When a person is juggling job responsibilities and other commitments, why take on the extra effort of enrolling in college? As University of Phoenix’s market research revealed, career opportunities

The FTC has extended the deadline for filing comments as part of its review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. You now have until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday

“Accuracy” is the linchpin of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and it’s the topic of an FTC-CFPB workshop today. Industry representatives, consumer advocates, law enforcers, and others will discuss

They may look like invoices sent to business owners for posters they may need to display in the workplace. But we think of them as unvoices – deceptively worded solicitations that tried to sell

More and more, merging parties argue that their merger does not raise competition concerns because they are not each other’s closest competitors. Parties have advanced this argument even in markets

The sellers of Synovia claimed their dietary supplement “paves the pot holes” in joints damaged by arthritis. But an FTC lawsuit alleges the primary pot holes were in the company’s purported proof

There are foundational consumer protection principles that bear repeating whenever the opportunity arises. The FTC’s just-announced decision in the Cambridge Analytica case offers just such an

The FTC and its law enforcement partners are waging the war against illegal telemarketing on many fronts. An amended complaint in a pending case filed by the FTC and the Ohio Attorney General seeks to

You know the importance of strong cybersecurity, but have you heard about free vulnerability testing? As part of its mission to protect the nation’s cyber infrastructure, the Department of Homeland

How central is accuracy to the credit reporting system? It’s important enough that Congress mentioned it in the second line of the Fair Credit Reporting Act – and more than 70 times in the text of the

Want to be your company’s Privacy Shield hero? Four proposed FTC settlements suggest actions you can take to keep your business Privacy Shield-compliant. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework enables

It’s the Business Blog equivalent of a Thanksgiving tradition: our annual reminder to share tips at your holiday gathering about avoiding those other kinds of turkeys – consumer scams. We’ve

Under COPPA, how do I know if my channel is “directed to children”? Since the FTC and New York Attorney General announced their September 2019 settlement with YouTube for violations of the Children’s

The Commission and Department of Justice’s recent case against Canon Inc. and Toshiba Corporation for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act makes an important point: restructuring