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Nowadays people can use subscription services for almost all areas of life: entertainment, food, gifts, fitness, education. These (often monthly) charges can add up, so if someone decides they want to cancel a subscription they should, well, be able to cancel it. Too often, consumers must navigate confusing and difficult cancellation processes to stop their subscriptions — which wastes time and costs them money. The FTC is committed to stopping unlawful subscription billing and cancellation practices. For a recent example, check out today’s settlement with the education technology company, Chegg.

You already know how important trademarks and patents are to protecting your intellectual property. But do you know how to tell the difference between the real United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and scammers pretending to be the USPTO? Here’s how the scam is playing out for businesses.

Online marketplaces and third party sellers looking for a refresher on the INFORM Consumers Act should look no further than the recent settlement with Whaleco, Inc., which operates the online marketplace Temu. The complaint alleges the company failed to provide online shoppers with required information and tools. This is the first case brought to enforce the INFORM Act.

How will your business operate if important systems are down due to a natural disaster or weather emergency? Do you have backup files of critical data? And do your communications, IT, and operations staff know what to do during an emergency?

Are you posting videos to YouTube that are made for kids? Are you using channels designated for adults? If you’re uploading child-directed videos to adult-designated channels, you might have a COPPA problem (or two). That’s one of the key takeaways from today’s proposed settlement with Disney, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, in which the FTC alleges that Disney Worldwide Services, Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC failed to properly designate its YouTube videos as directed to children. The FTC charges that Disney’s practices violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA).

Does your company make online games, products, or services for children? Take note: the FTC is serious about children’s privacy. For proof, look no further than today’s settlement with Apitor Technology Co., Ltd. (“Apitor”), a Chinese toymaker, for allegations that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”).

It’s a common trope that joining a gym is easy, going to the gym is hard, and cancelling a gym membership is often…well, not easy. According to the FTC’s recent case against the operators of LA Fitness, “not easy” is an understatement for consumers seeking to cancel their LA Fitness memberships or related services.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, or you’re someone tuned in to how financial institutions are required to maintain safeguards to protect their customers’ information, you might already know about the FTC’s Safeguards Rule and what businesses need to know. Those in the know know that the Safeguards Rule generally applies to any financial institutions under the FTC’s jurisdiction. But auto dealers are the only financial institutions who also fall under the FTC’s Privacy Rule. The FTC recently released a set of Frequently Asked Questions to help auto dealers comply with the FTC’s amended Safeguards Rule.

Are you a collector of lead data, a seller of leads, or a purchaser of leads? There’s something for you in today’s FTC settlement with MediaAlpha. The FTC alleges that the online lead generation company misled consumers interested in health insurance into sharing personal information MediaAlpha then sold to telemarketers. As a result, consumers were allegedly bombarded with millions of illegal robocalls, live telemarketing calls, and other unlawful sales tactics.

The Rule of 7 in marketing says people need to hear a message at least seven times before they act on it. The latest Data Spotlight from the FTC, “False alarm, real scam” has some messaging to share (repeatedly) with your staff and colleagues. Share it in your company newsletter, email signature block, or posted in the office pantry, bulletin board, water cooler, or internal website. Because the last thing you want are team members who have to face the disastrous loss of their own life savings — or a family member’s retirement.