Blog Posts Tagged with Advertising and Marketing Basics

Housing costs take a big bite out of most Americans’ budgets, especially consumers looking for a suitable place to live during a fluctuating rental market. That’s why the FTC has particular concerns...

What will it take to get businesses to honor the promises they make about the privacy of consumers’ health data? Multiple FTC law enforcement actions in the past year? Two more cases against companies...

Finding healthcare coverage can be a challenge for many Americans, including gig workers, the self-employed, and people at small businesses. So when consumers were looking for health insurance under...

Ever spend hours (and hours) inputting complicated financial information online only have it deleted? It’s frustrating enough when it’s due to a technical glitch, but according to an FTC complaint...

For consumers already underwater financially and desperate for just $50, cash advance company FloatMe’s services turned out to be more sink than swim. According to the FTC, the subscription-based...

Do consumers attend a Christian church? Are they the parents of preschoolers? Would the description “wealthy and not healthy” apply to them? By tracking people’s mobile devices, Texas-based InMarket...

Companies selling genetic testing products tout the benefits of DNA-based insights – learning more about health, lineage, family tree – so that consumers can seek medical attention, customize their...

Buying a vehicle is a major financial commitment for consumers and price is a material consideration in most people’s purchase decision. That’s why deceptive double charges, illegal junk fees, and...

Technically we can’t categorize these notable FTC staff publications of 2023 as “best sellers” because they’re available at no charge. But we can say that “best sellers” – our description of law...

According to a five-count complaint filed against Grand Canyon Education, Inc., Grand Canyon University, and Brian E. Mueller, the FTC alleges the defendants misrepresented Grand Canyon University as...

Rushing to file your public comment about the FTC’s proposed Junk Fees Rule by the impending deadline? Relax. The FTC has extended the comment period to February 7, 2024.

In the drive toward Combating Auto Retail Scams, the FTC’s just-announced CARS Rule is a big win for consumers, who lose billions of dollars in wasted time and money each year to illegal practices...

It used to be that family legends about background and heritage had to stay legendary. But the popularity of genetic test kits have made them a hot topic around the Thanksgiving table. A proposed FTC...

A consumer spots a social media post from a dietician stating – for example – “Aspartame increasing cancer risk?! Nope! Let’s talk about it” and “It’s okay to still enjoy your non-sugar-sweetened...

Junk fees – those hidden and bogus charges that have found their way into a wide variety of transactions – are on consumers’ minds. Based on what they’ve told us, junk fees are on their last nerve...

Gimme an F! Gimme an A! Gimme an L! Gimme an S! Gimme an E! What’s that spell? “False,” of course, which – along with deceptive and unsubstantiated – is how the FTC describes claims made by Sollers...

Many consumers describe them as annoying, injurious, invisible, and all too common. They could be talking about pernicious pests and in some ways, junk fees – hidden or falsely advertised charges that...

Sometimes being the “Home of . . .” is an honorific to be proud of. Kudos, Cleveland, for rock ‘n’ roll, and thank you, Buffalo, for your contribution to chicken wings. But the Birthplace of Frauds...

The people behind online business coaching outfit Lurn promised that consumers could become “Stay-At-Home Millionaires.” But according to the FTC, Lurn, Inc., CEO Anik Singal, Tyrone Cohen, and David...

Businesses, platforms, social media influencers, and others who advertise or promote products to children online all have a role to play in ensuring that the boundary between advertising and...