Tag: Consumer Protection

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

If necessity is the mother of invention, bogus invention promotion companies are the sketchy brothers-in-law. That’s why inventors who think they may have that Next Big Thing should investigate...

Here’s how AcneApp and Acne Pwner were supposed to work. Buyers downloaded the apps from their favorite app store. After selecting a light — blue to fight bacteria or red to heal, some ads said — they...

“You can settle your credit card debt for pennies on the dollar without filing for bankruptcy.” For people struggling to stay afloat, Debt Relief USA’s national TV ads must have seemed like a lifeline...

There are some combinations that raise immediate compliance issues for responsible businesses — and kids’ privacy and mobile applications are among them. A settlement announced by the FTC — the agency...

Thinking about using a pre-checked box to obligate buyers in an online transaction? Maybe you’re considering a negative option arrangement without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the details of...

Homeowners in financial trouble aren’t getting a lot of great news these days. But 450,177 of them will be getting a check in the mail that represents their share of the FTC’s $108 million settlement...

Say “spam” and most business executives think of annoying messages that litter their IN box. But the CAN-SPAM Act and the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Rule cover a much broader range of commercial email. Yes, that...

A skin cream that can reduce body size. Are historians sure that wasn’t what Ponce de Leon was seeking? It’s certainly what buyers are looking for, if ads are any indication. But claims like that have...

Sometimes it’s great to put stuff to more than one use. Think the versatile Swiss Army knife, the iconic Little Black Dress, or the typical elementary school “cafetorium” where kids can eat lunch...

You have some job openings at your company or maybe you’re thinking of promoting people to new positions. You’ve winnowed that stack of resumes down to some promising candidates. Now it’s nitty gritty...

Yes, it’s a global marketplace, but geography still matters. Misrepresentations about where a company is based can have significant implications for buyers. That’s the message of an FTC settlement...

You can swim freestyle. You can work freelance. And there are those among us who still hold up lighters and yell “Play Free Bird.” But for marketers, one thing you can’t do is advertise a product as...

With a corporate name like Lookout, it pays to — well — look out. Unfortunately, according to the FTC’s complaint against Lookout Services, Inc., the company’s questionable security practices left the...