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The terms of the FTC’s proposed settlement apply only to Facebook. But to paraphrase noted legal scholar Bob Dylan, companies that want to stay off the law enforcement radar don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. What practical pointers can your business take from the Facebook case and other recent FTC actions dealing with consumer privacy? 1) Promises, promises. Not making any privacy promises? Think again. Reread your privacy...

The FTC’s complaint against Facebook outlines eight separate areas where the FTC says Facebook’s privacy practices were deceptive or unfair. What provisions does the proposed order put in place to protect people in the future? One key provision is a broad ban on deception. Facebook can’t misrepresent the privacy or security protections that apply to any “covered information.” The order defines that as information “from or about” an individual...

When it comes to privacy promises, what you say you do with people’s personal information has to line up with your day-to-day practices. That’s the message of the FTC’s proposed settlement announced today with Facebook. Where did the company go wrong? The FTC’s 8-count complaint alleges a number of different violations, but they boil down to this: Facebook’s privacy practices often flew in the face of its stated policies and, as one count alleges...

It billed itself as “Facebook and Myspace for kids,” but according to a settlement with the FTC, the Skid-e-Kids website failed to meet critical compliance obligations under COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. As a result, the FTC says the site collected personal information from about 5,600 kids without their parents’ consent. Under COPPA and the FTC’s COPPA Rule, website operators like Skid-e-Kids have to notify parents and get...

In celebration of Halloween — and with apologies to Edgar Allen Poe — here’s our take on what companies can do to make sure spooky business practices don’t come back to haunt them. Once upon a midnight lawful Pondering practices, good and awful, Reading through the U.S. Code For dos and don’ts I parse and claw. I came upon the Trade Commission’s Section 5 with all revisions. “Tell the truth”: Its admonition. It’s no defense to hem and haw...

Between the picture of the President and Vice-President standing in front of the American flag and the references to government funds to stabilize the economy, it’s understandable that people who signed up for the service advertised on the Grant Connect website thought they were on their way to landing a grant. Promoters even described Grant Connect as “a unique, consumer-friendly US government grant program that delivers all of the tools for the...

It’s unusual for an FTC court document to come with a warning label, but the allegations contained in a recent debt collection case against an outfit doing business as Rumson, Bolling & Associates aren’t for the faint of heart. According to the FTC, the defendants harassed debtors with abusive and profane language, including threats to harm their family members, kill their pets, and desecrate the bodies of their deceased loved ones. And that’s...

FTC watchers will remember Phillip A. Flora. In the first case of its kind, the FTC alleged that Mr. Flora was a One-Man Message Machine, churning out a “mind-boggling” number of unsolicited commercial text messages pitching mortgage modification services. How many did he send? According to the FTC, millions and millions . Problem #1: The FTC charged that sending the unsolicited messages (or causing them to...

The FTC’s settlement with Reebok requires the company to get their ad claims in shape and works out a $25 million refund program for people who bought EasyTone and RunTone shoes and apparel. Of course, the terms of the lawsuit apply only to Reebok, but experienced advertisers understand the benefits of mining FTC orders for compliance nuggets applicable to their business. What if you sell Reebok shoes or apparel or represent companies that do...

Shape up your substantiation or tone down your ads. That’s the message marketers should take from the FTC’s $25 million settlement with Reebok for false and unsubstantiated claims for the company’s EasyTone and RunTone toning shoes. Fitness freaks and couch potatoes alike have noticed the toning shoe trend. Reebok kicked off its EasyTone walking shoes line in early 2009. RunTone running shoes followed in 2010. Retailing for about $100, the shoes...