MilConsumer Blog Feed

The FTC has always recommended that families have in-depth, upfront discussions about funerals and it’s advice we take seriously ourselves. In November 2022, the Commission issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, asking for public comment about proposed changes to the Funeral Rule. We’re following up with a workshop scheduled for September 7, 2023, to consider issues raised by the ANPR. The Funeral Rule has been in place for almost 40...

Intimate facts about ovulation, fertility, and other sexual and reproductive health issues are about as personal as personal information can get. T he FTC alleges that Easy Healthcare Corporation – the company behind the Premom Ovulation Tracker app – broke its privacy promises by disclosing users’ sensitive health data to Google and AppsFlyer and by sharing other personal information with two firms in China. The complaint, which alleges that...

Texting is cheap and easy, and scammers are counting on the ding of an incoming text being hard to ignore. [1] In 2022, they were right to the tune of $330 million in losses to text scams, as reported to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, with a median reported loss of $1,000. That’s more than double the 2021 reported losses and nearly five times what people reported in 2019. [2] In fact, reports about text scams spiked in the first six months...

There are a lot of famous trash talkers out there. Some professional athletes and a certain grouchy green resident of a street named Sesame come to mind. But when the FTC engages in trash talking – as we will at a May 23, 2023, national workshop – our purpose is to consider the current state of recycling practices and recycling-related advertising. We’ve just announced the agenda for Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green...

Is there a family, community, or company not impacted by the national student loan debt burden, which currently totals about $1.75 trillion? Even more distressing is that a substantial chunk of that debt is already in default. The FTC has gone to court to challenge the conduct of two outfits that pitch allegedly bogus student loan repayment and forgiveness programs, in violation of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the Gramm-Leach...

All eyes will be on the FTC as the agency hosts a workshop on May 18th, A Clear Look at the Eyeglass Rule. Convened as part of the ongoing review of the Ophthalmic Practice Rules – consumers and industry members know it as the Eyeglass Rule – the half-day discussion will focus on issues central to the protections afforded by the Rule, including proposed changes that are under consideration. Check out the just-published agenda for the event. In...

No one would try to run a marathon with just a few days of preparation. It takes months of rigorous training before you can step up to the starting line with confidence. Of course, the process of studying, selecting, opening, and operating a franchise can make a marathon feel like a stroll in the park. In the second of our Franchise Fundamentals blog series, we take a closer look at the extensive research “road work” prospective franchisees...

In the 2014 movie Ex Machina , a robot manipulates someone into freeing it from its confines, resulting in the person being confined instead. The robot was designed to manipulate that person’s emotions, and, oops, that’s what it did. While the scenario is pure speculative fiction, companies are always looking for new ways – such as the use of generative AI tools – to better persuade people and change their behavior. When that conduct is...

For many people, buying a franchise has proven to be a good choice, but like any other financial decision, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question “Is a franchise right for me?” Buying a franchise involves a major financial outlay and owning one often requires an “all in” lifestyle commitment. If you’re thinking about whether your future could be in a franchise, follow the FTC Business Blog for a series we ’re calling Franchise...

FTC staff has a prescription for certain eyewear prescribers: It’s time to focus on complying with the FTC’s Eyeglass Rule. Cease and desist letters went to 37 prescribers about whom the FTC received complaints of alleged violations of the Rule. The concerns? Did the office fail to automatically provide a patient with their eyeglass prescription immediately upon completion of their eyeglass exam? And did the office require the patient to pay a...