Tag: Consumer Protection

The sellers of a supposed N95-grade face mask called the Zephyr will pay more than $1.1 million to provide full refunds to consumers nationwide, as well as a civil penalty, under a proposed settlement the Federal Trade Commission announced today. The order settling the complaint also bars Razer, Inc., from making COVID-related health misrepresentations or unsubstantiated health claims about protective health equipment and requires them to pay a civil penalty of $100,000. 

Home products company Williams-Sonoma will be required to pay a record civil penalty of $3.175 million for violating a 2020 Federal Trade Commission order requiring the retailer to tell the truth about whether the products it sells are Made in USA.

In a complaint filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, the agency charges that Williams-Sonoma listed multiple products for sale as being “Made in USA” when in fact they were made in China and other countries. The company has agreed to a settlement that requires them to pay the civil penalty, which is the largest ever in a Made in USA case.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against bill payment company Doxo and two of its co-founders, charging that the company uses misleading search ads to impersonate consumers’ billers and deceptive design practices to mislead consumers about millions of dollars in junk fees they tacked on to consumers’ bills.

The complaint alleges that Doxo, its CEO and co-founder Steve Shivers, and its vice president and co-founder Roger Parks, have known from years of internal surveys and complaints from tens of thousands of consumers and hundreds of billers of the harms their business model caused consumers and have still failed to correct their unlawful actions.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against tax preparation company H&R Block for unfairly deleting consumers’ tax data and requiring them to contact customer service when they downgrade to more affordable online products, and deceptively marketing their products as “free” when they were not free for many consumers. These practices cost consumers time and money.

The FTC  charged Ring with compromising its customers’ privacy by allowing any employee or contractor to access consumers’ private videos and by failing to implement basic privacy and security protections, enabling hackers to take control of consumers’ accounts, cameras, and videos.

The FTC alleged that Facebook violated its privacy promises to consumers and subsequently violated a 2012 Commission order.