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The domino principle. The ripple effect. The butterfly phenomenon. Apply the analogy of your choice to describe what happens when one software developer’s allegedly lax security practices result in the breach of confidential customer information maintained by multiple businesses that use the software. If your business is a service provider – or if your company uses third-party service providers to help manage your data – a proposed FTC settlement...

The FTC and FDA just sent warning letters to four sellers of e-liquids, the nicotine-laced liquid used in vaping. But even if you don’t have clients in that industry, keep reading. The letters have a lot to say about social media marketing and influencers, regardless of the products they pitch. What kind of ads do the warning letters address? That’s where it gets interesting. The FDA and FTC sent the letters to companies whose flavored e-liquids...

Humphrey Bogart said it in “The African Queen” and it was a catchphrase popularized by Jon Lovitz on “Saturday Night Live.” But to the FTC, That’s the Ticket is the name of a June 11, 2019, workshop to explore consumer protection issues related to online ticket sales – and the agenda is out now. Consumers who try to buy tickets online to a concert, theatrical performance, or sporting event have often expressed frustration with the process. That’s...

Moon Unit Zappa’s 1982 song “Valley Girl” popularized the phrase “gag me with a spoon.” We doubt the lyric “gag me with a form contract clause” would have been a hit, but it’s among the tactics expressly outlawed by the Consumer Review Fairness Act. As two proposed settlements demonstrate, the FTC thinks gag clauses and similar non-disparagement provisions that violate the CRFA are – to quote Ms. Zappa – grody to the max. People using a popular...

June 1st marks the start of hurricane season, but weather emergencies can happen anytime. The FTC encourages businesses to have a plan in place to safeguard your facilities, products, and data. And we’ve just introduced new resources aimed at helping you protect your workforce. Like your business, your employees need to prepare for extreme conditions – a task best undertaken when skies are sunny. Helping them formulate a personal plan can save...

Last week, Bureau of Competition staff published a report on filings received in fiscal year (FY) 2016 under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), the thirteenth such report since the MMA took effect in 2004. These reports identify the frequency of pharmaceutical patent settlements and specific types of provisions that appear in such settlements. Comparing the data in these reports with developments in...

The term “FinTech” covers a lot of topics central to the FTC’s consumer protection mission – lending, payment systems, data security, privacy, and truth in advertising, to name just a few. So where can businesses go for resources on how established consumer protection standards apply in this emerging marketplace? FinTech-related materials have a new home in the Business Center: a dedicated FinTech page. If FinTech matters to your company or your...

Racing to finish your comment about proposed changes to the Safeguards Rule by the impending deadline? You can take a breather because the FTC has extended the deadline by 60 days. The Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program. As part of its ongoing review of rules and guides, the FTC proposed changes to the Rule in March 2019 and asked for your feedback. At...

The great majority of attorneys appearing before the Commission share a sense of practicing at the height of our profession. They engage with Commission staff on pressing issues of fact, antitrust law and economic theory in matters of great importance to consumers and our economy. For a few, however, there may be perceived opportunities to seek an advantage in the debate through misrepresentation of key facts. For those few, we want to remind...

Their lines of work are as different as can be: an HVAC and electrical contractor, a flooring seller, and a company that takes people on horseback rides. But according to the FTC, they have one thing in common. They all violated the Consumer Review Fairness Act. Read on for details about the FTC’s first cases solely enforcing the CRFA, the form contract provisions the FTC says contravened the law, and tips for keeping your contracts CRFA...