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Even as we all adjust to day-to-day changes, your work – and the work of the FTC – continues. If you’re a technologist or academic interested in presenting your latest research at the FTC’s PrivacyCon 2020, please let us know by April 10, 2020. Check out the Call for Presentations and respond by the deadline. The FTC’s fifth annual PrivacyCon is currently set for July 21, 2020. We’ll be announcing more about logistics as the date draws near, but...

It’s a disturbing trend. Companies are targeting older consumers, claiming to have easy answers for serious diseases for which there may not be a proven cure. That’s one allegation in the FTC’s action against Nevada-based telemarketer Health Center, Inc. Another count challenges what we call “own-dorsements.” According to Health Center’s telemarketing scripts, websites, social media, and testimonials from supposedly satisfied customers, the...

Like many other agencies, organizations, and employers across the country, we in the Bureau of Competition are adjusting to the realities of working during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. As part of that adjustment, we are taking a variety of measures to respond to these new and challenging circumstances. Our two main priorities will continue to be: first, the health and well-being of our personnel, their families, and parties and organizations...

If your business sells online, the price of the product is only one comparative calculation that consumers consider. Shipping matters, too. Does your business deliver to their location? How much will it cost? When will they get their stuff? Here are some practical principles to apply – and some myths to bust – about shipping products to customers from sea to shining sea. Keep your packaging opaque, but your policies transparent. The easiest way...

The practice is called piggybacking, but it’s not child’s play. It’s where a person with iffy credit pays a credit repair company to be listed as an authorized user on the account of someone with good credit – even though they don’t actually have access. The idea is that the person with bad credit can inflate their own credit score and get the money-saving benefits of better credit by “piggybacking” on the credit of a stranger. That’s how a...

When public health concerns hit the headlines, some companies rush to the market with products advertised to prevent or treat the problem. We’re seeing the same thing with the Coronavirus. But do those businesses have proof for their advertising claims, as the FTC requires? And have their products been approved, cleared, or authorized by the FDA? The FTC and FDA just sent warning letters to seven companies raising concerns about their Coronavirus...

The “what” of the FTC’s settlement with Teami, LLC, shouldn’t come as a surprise. The complaint alleges the defendants took in more than $15 million by deceptively claiming their array of teas could cause rapid and substantial weight loss, “fight against cancerous cells,” decrease migraines, unclog arteries, and prevent colds and flu. What’s different is the “how.” The defendants advertised primarily through a massive social media campaign. Also...

Real estate professionals say it’s all about “location, location, location.” For health-related claims, the FTC says it’s all about “substantiation, substantiation, substantiation.” Marketers of an electric device called Quell claimed their product could treat chronic and severe pain throughout the body caused by conditions as diverse as arthritis, nerve damage, sciatica, shingles, and fibromyalgia. And they said all that could be accomplished by...

Turning eighteen was a momentous birthday for most of us and the same could be said for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule. Finalized in 2002 and in effect since 2003, the Safeguards Rule requires “financial institutions” to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program for handling customer information. The FTC announced last year that it was putting the Safeguards Rule under the regulatory review...

As an essential engine of the American economy, small business has a big impact. But where can small business owners turn for the capital they need to grow? Traditional lenders are one option, but the “It’s a Wonderful Life” image of George Bailey at the Building & Loan may not reflect reality. New online options may broaden the availability of credit, but they also raise some consumer protection concerns. That was the topic of Strictly Business...