Synopsis: On January 6, 2020, Andrew Smith, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, outlined in a blog post the agency’s new approach to data security orders. The agency implemented this approach in 2019 following a December 2018 hearing it held on the topic and an 11th Circuit decision that struck down
FTC Rules Political Ad Marketing Firm Cambridge Analytica Deceived Facebook Users
Synopsis: On December 6, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission issued a unanimous ruling against political data firm Cambridge Analytica for violating Section 5 of the FTC Act by misrepresenting that it would not download personally identifiable information when it in fact harvested this information from over 50 million Facebook users. Specifically, Cambridge Analytica represented that
Influencer Disclosure Update 101, Courtesy of the FTC
Synopsis: FTC publishes a quick-resource guide for influencers to encourage advertising compliance on social media.
For the last several years the Federal Trade Commission has been addressing the misleading marketing of consumer goods through social media influencers. At the beginning of this month, the FTC reinforced its concern with social media influencers by publishing a
FTC Proposes No-Money, No-Fault Settlement With Cosmetics Company Over False Customer Reviews
Seyfarth Synopsis: FTC publishes proposed consent order with cosmetic company that posted fake customer reviews but some FTC commissioners place doubt on its effectiveness because there is no financial penalty.
Earlier this year, we reported that fake news consumer reviews was on the federal regulators’ radar, especially with the passage of the Consumer Review Fairness
Seventh Circuit Adopts CFPB Position On Time-Barred Debt, Creating Circuit Split
The push to restrict collection of old debts is gaining steam. On March 11, 2014, the Seventh Circuit reversed dismissals of two federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims that challenged dunning letters offering to “settle” debts that were subject to a statute of limitations defense. Although the court made clear that it is