Blog

Between social distancing and COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, companies are turning to video conferencing services to get down to business. While these services help you connect, they also pose new privacy and data security risks. Here are some tips to keep in mind before hosting or joining a video conference online: Take steps to ensure only invited participants are able to join your meeting. People may call it “zoombombing,” but it’s a...

For small businesses, there’s never been a time when “business as usual” has been so unusual. With many companies facing coronavirus-related challenges, the FTC has tips for business owners – and for those offering small business financing – about navigating today’s uncharted financial waters. For small business owners Keep your lender in the loop. If you have existing financing and are struggling to make payments, maintain open lines of...

It’s FTC Advertising 101: Don’t make claims about serious medical conditions unless you have solid proof in hand to substantiate what you say. It’s been the law for decades and now more than ever, it’s essential for advertisers to honor that fundamental principle. And yet companies continue to market everything from facial brushes to IV drips with promises to prevent, treat, or cure Coronavirus – claims the FTC calls into question in a new round...

The FTC has extended the public comment periods as part of the regulatory review of the Funeral Rule and Endorsements Guides. Because the Coronavirus crisis may affect commenters’ ability to file by the original date, we want to make sure you have enough time to share your feedback. The date for comments of the Funeral Rule, which is designed to enhance consumer protection by requiring that consumers receive certain information concerning goods...

“Social distancing,” “shelter-in-place,” “virtual happy hour”— these are some of the new expressions on everyone’s lips the past few weeks. For many, add “remote learning” to the list. Because of school closures, millions of students are now using online, education technology (or “ed tech”) services to engage in remote learning from home. And while this fills a vital need, it’s important to keep in mind that many of these ed tech services collect...

I want to thank Mike Moiseyev for his dedication and commitment to the Bureau of Competition. Mike has led the Mergers I Division for the past 16-and-a-half years, becoming Assistant Director in 2003. Mike joined the Bureau of Competition in 1989, following law school. He has managed some of the most significant cases in the Bureau during his career. Among the most recent of these are the Bureau’s challenge to the consummated merger of Otto Bock...

I want to thank Kevin Hahm for his work in the Bureau of Competition and, most importantly, for his contribution to our competition enforcement. Kevin, most recently, the Assistant Director for the Mergers IV Division, has been an integral part of the reinvigoration of the hospital merger enforcement efforts within the Bureau. Before becoming Assistant Director, Kevin had served as Deputy Assistant Director of the Mergers IV Division. He worked...

If your business makes “smart” devices, you’ll want to read about Tapplock’s settlement with the FTC. It’s one more example of why businesses in the Internet of Things (IoT) space need to think about privacy and security when designing connected products. Tapplock, Inc. is an IoT company that sells Internet-connected fingerprint-enabled padlocks, called smart locks. The smart locks interact with an app that lets users lock and unlock their smart...

As we navigate uncharted waters in our work and home lives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few changes have happened quickly. We claimed “home office” space to take on the challenges of working remotely. Bureau of Competition staff shifted from in-person meetings to conference calls, made from unlikely venues (such as couches) without all the usual professional trappings (sweatpants optional, children entirely possible). Most...

Consumers hate illegal robocalls. And as the thousands of reports pouring into the FTC indicate, they also hate robocalls that exploit concerns about Coronavirus. In recent months, the FTC has taken innovative steps to take on not only illegal robocallers, but also companies that “assist and facilitate” their conduct. Just last week, FTC staff sent warning letters to nine businesses that provide Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services or...