Business Blog

As back-to-school time approaches, children may be thinking about meeting up with friends to share stories about their summer adventures.  But when it comes to personal information, parents and kids need to be careful about sharing too much.  These days the casual use of sensitive data (like a Social Security number on a registration form, permission slip, or health document) can lead to child identity theft, a serious crime that impacts thousands of kids each year.  Parents can take steps to protect their children from ID theft — and your business can help by sharing free FTC resources in

When it comes to the FTC’s Jewelry Guides, we’re looking for your pearls of wisdom, your sterling opinions, and other flawless feedback about how the standards affect consumers and businesses.  Back in June, we told you that the Jewelry Guides were getting another look as part of the FTC’s systematic review of its rules and

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 settlement.

Last year, U.S. pet owners spent over $50 billion on their pets.  That’s a lot of puppy chow, chew toys, and rhinestone collars.  But it also reflects significant expenditures for pet health products and services, including veterinary office visits and medicines.  In fact, in 2011 American consumers spent nearly $7 billion on pet medications alone. 

The FTC asked for your input and you chimed in with 350 comments about the future of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.  Based on what you said — and what we’ve learned through law enforcement — we’re back, asking for your help in thinking through modifications to certain definitions to clarify the scope of the Rule and strengthen its protections.

Identity theft has been the top complaint that consumers have reported to the FTC for 12 years in a row.  We’ve also heard from companies that ID theft can cause huge headaches in the form of unauthorized charges, worthless receivables, and customer service snafus.  That’s why business executives should be at the forefront in the drive for identity protection.

It’s not an easy time to be a timeshare owner.  And the last thing they need is a company making false promises that corporate buyers and renters are clamoring for their timeshares — if owners will just pony up a “registration fee” between $500 and $2,000.  According to a lawsuit filed by the FTC and Florida AG, that’s what was going on with an Orlando-based outfit called Information Management Forum.

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.

Remember the character from the Superman comic books who was the exact opposite of the Man of Steel?  He said no when he meant yes, his alter ego went by the name "Kent Clark," and was part of the Injustice League of America.  It made for fun reading, but you wouldn’t want him crafting your ad claims.