Legal Resources
Use the filters to find legal resources like cases, reports, staff opinions, and events. You can sort by topic, type or industry.
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Case: Tate’s Auto Center
A group of auto dealerships in Arizona and New Mexico must cease business operations as part of a court-approved settlement resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that the dealerships deceived consumers and falsified information on vehicle financing applications. In a case filed in 2018, the...
Case: Amazon Flex
Amazon will pay more than $61.7 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it failed to pay Amazon Flex drivers the full amount of tips they received from Amazon customers over a two and a half year period. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company stopped its behavior only after...
Online children’s education company Age of Learning, Inc., which operates ABCmouse, will pay $10 million and change its negative option marketing and billing practices to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it made misrepresentations about cancellations and failed to disclose important...
Case: Fashion Nova, Inc.
Online fashion retailer Fashion Nova will pay $9.3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it didn’t properly notify consumers and give them the chance to cancel their orders when it failed to ship merchandise in a timely manner, and that it illegally used gift cards to compensate...
Public Event: Bringing Dark Patterns to Light: An FTC Workshop
February 1, 2021
The Federal Trade Commission hosted a virtual workshop on April 29, 2021 to examine digital “dark patterns,” a term that has been used to describe a range of potentially manipulative user interface designs used on websites and mobile apps. “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light: An FTC Workshop” explored...
The Federal Trade Commission took legal action against three ticket brokers based in New York who allegedly used automated software to illegally buy up tens of thousands of tickets for popular concerts and sporting events, then subsequently made millions of dollars reselling the tickets to fans at...
Case: Concert Specials, Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission took legal action against three ticket brokers based in New York who allegedly used automated software to illegally buy up tens of thousands of tickets for popular concerts and sporting events, then subsequently made millions of dollars reselling the tickets to fans at...
Case: Cartisim Corporation
The Federal Trade Commission took legal action against three ticket brokers based in New York who allegedly used automated software to illegally buy up tens of thousands of tickets for popular concerts and sporting events, then subsequently made millions of dollars reselling the tickets to fans at...
Case: MOBE Ltd., et al.
The Federal Trade Commission charged three individuals and nine businesses with bilking more than $125 million from thousands of consumers with a fraudulent business education program called MOBE (“My Online Business Education”). A federal court halted the scheme and froze the defendants’ assets at...
Case: MyLife.com, Inc.
The Department of Justice on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission sued MyLife.com, Inc. and its CEO Jeffrey Tinsley over allegations they deceived consumers with “teaser background reports” that often falsely claimed to include information about arrest, criminal, and sex offender records, and...
The FTC sued RagingWire Data Centers, Inc. over allegations that the company misled consumers about its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework and failed to adhere to the program’s requirements before allowing its certification to lapse. A proposed consent agreement that would settle...
The operators of a worldwide negative option scam have agreed to settle FTC charges that they deceptively advertised “risk-free” trial offers for only the cost of shipping and handling, but then charged consumers full price for the trial product and enrolled them in expensive, ongoing continuity...
The FTC entered into a settlement with the operators of LendEDU.com to resolve allegations that LendEDU falsely claimed that the website provided “objective,” “accurate,” and “unbiased” information about consumer financial products, such as student loans, personal loans, and credit cards, when in...
Case: I Works, Inc., et al.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending full refunds - totaling more than $12 million - to individuals who lost money to a company called I Works, which operated deceptive "trial" memberships and bogus government-grant and money-making schemes in 2010.
Case: iBackPack of Texas, LLC
Douglas Monahan, operating through his company, iBackPack of Texas, LLC, settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that he operated a deceptive crowdfunding scheme that used contributors’ funds on himself rather than to deliver the high-tech backpack he promised.
Case: Sellers Playbook
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks totaling more than $1 million to individuals targeted by a business opportunity scheme that promised consumers big profits from selling on Amazon.
Case: Teami, LLC
A marketer of teas and skincare products has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it promoted its products using deceptive health claims and endorsements by well-known social media influencers who did not adequately disclose that they were being paid to promote its products.
Case: On Point Global LLC
A court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to preliminarily halt a scheme in which the defendants operated hundreds of websites that promised a quick and easy government service, such as renewing a driver’s license, or eligibility determinations for public benefits. Following an...
Unrollme Inc. reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the company deceived some consumers about how it accesses and uses their personal emails.
According to the agency’s April 2019 complaint, UrthBox violated the FTC Act by misrepresenting that positive consumer reviews on the BBB’s and other websites reflected the independent experiences or opinions of impartial consumers, while the reviewers actually had a material connection to the...
In June 2018, the final two defendants among a group of California-based marketers were permanently barred from the deceptive marketing and billing tactics used in connection with selling skincare products offered to consumers with supposedly “risk-free” trials. The court order settled the charges...
Case: Match Group, Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission has sued online dating service Match Group, Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest advertisements to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into purchasing paid...
The Federal Trade Commission finalized five separate proposed administrative complaints and orders enforcing the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA), which prohibits businesses from using form contract provisions that bar consumers from writing or posting negative reviews online, or threatening...
The FTC is mailing 53,595 refund checks totaling $748,070 to consumers nationwide who signed up for an online auction kit that was supposed to be free, but wasn’t. The kit actually cost consumers up to $59.95 per month if they failed to cancel a trial membership in a business opportunity program...
June 28, 2019
A one-day public workshop in Atlanta focused on truth-in-advertising basics and data security compliance. Designed for business owners, advertising and marketing executives, and attorneys, the program features a roster of experts discussing established consumer protection and antitrust principles,...
The FTC today announced its first case challenging a marketer’s use of fake paid reviews on an independent retail website. In settling the agency’s complaint, Cure Encapsulations, Inc. and its owner, Naftula Jacobowitz, resolved allegations that they made false and unsubstantiated claims for their...
April 4, 2019
The staff of the Federal Trade Commission examined consumer protection issues related to video game loot boxes at a public workshop on August 7, 2019, in Washington, DC. Loot boxes are in-game rewards that contain a random assortment of virtual items (loot) to assist a player advance in the online...
Public Event: Online Event Tickets Workshop
March 27, 2019
The workshop, first announced in October, was originally set to take place in March, but was rescheduled due to the extended government shutdown. It was live tweeted using the hashtag #FTCticket. The workshop explored consumer protection issues in the online ticket marketplace for events, such as...
The defendants in an alleged work-from-home business opportunity scam are banned from selling any business coaching service or business opportunity under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Following a public comment period, the FTC has approved two final orders settling allegations that Creaxion Corporation, Inside Publications, LLC, and their respective principals misrepresented that paid endorsements were independent consumer opinions and that commercial advertising was independent...
Following a public comment period, the FTC has approved two final orders settling allegations that Creaxion Corporation, Inside Publications, LLC, and their respective principals misrepresented that paid endorsements were independent consumer opinions and that commercial advertising was independent...
Case: Tarr Inc.
The FTC is mailing 227,995 checks totaling more than $6 million to consumers who purchased health products from three individuals and the 19 companies they controlled—collectively known as Tarr, Inc. Affected consumers will receive their refund checks, which average $26.57, soon.
Case: John Fowler
Case: Reservation Counter, LLC
Case: Sale Slash, LLC
Case: AdoreMe, Inc.
Case: Pact, Inc.
Case: CPATank, Inc., et al.
Case: Expand, Inc. (Gigats)
The Staff Perspective recounts important themes arising out of the discussion by panelists at the full-day workshop. It discusses the mechanics of lead generation and how it functions in the modern economy. The paper describes who collects leads and how they are used – in particular the process by...
