Internet Marketing Law Blog

Student Loan Debt Relief Operators Banned by FTC According to the Federal Trade Commission, two alleged Florida-based student loan debt relief schemes have been banned from the debt relief business as part of settlements with the FTC.  The cases involves allegations by the FTC that defendants illegal upfront fees and falsely promised to help some consumers enroll in government…

The New York Law Journal quoted Richard B. Newman in an article titled “Uptick in ‘Made in USA’ Actions and Remedial Plans.”  The article, published November 19, 2018, discusses the recent proliferation of U.S. origin investigations and enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission.  According to the article, manufacturers of products labeled or advertised with U.S. origin claims…

What is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Investigative Authority? The FTC’s enforcement authority is related to its power to prosecute any inquiry necessary to its duties in any part of the United States, pursuant to FTC Act Sec. 3. With some exceptions – pursuant to FTC Act Sec. 6(a), the FTC may investigate the organization,…

The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security will host a hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission” on November 27, 2018. The subcommittee will examine whether the FTC should have increased authority in privacy and data security matters as well as the agency’s priorities in promoting competition and…

Must See … 60 Minutes Report on GDPR and U.S. Privacy Regulation On November 11, 2018, the television program “60 Minutes” aired a comprehensive report on the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the U.S. data privacy landscape. The story was largely focused upon tech giants’ monetization efforts via the largely unregulated use of personal…

Marketers Settle Alleged Endorsement Violations The FTC has announced that a PR firm and publisher have settled FTC allegations that they misrepresented insect repellent product endorsements as independent opinions and disguised commercial advertising as independent editorial content. Respondents are not prohibited from making such misrepresentations going forward, and must clearly and conspicuously disclose material connections with…