Advertising and Marketing

What Advertisers, Ad Agencies and Review Sites Need to Know About the FTC’s Proposed Endorsement Guide Rule

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides are a roadmap about how the agency perceives marketing practices that involve endorsements and testimonials under Section 5 of the FTC Act.  To date, practices that do not comply with Guides often draw the attention of regulators, including the issuance of civil investigative demands and enforcement actions based upon alleged deceptive…

New York Attorney General and FTC Recover Millions for U.S. Servicemembers Allegedly Defrauded

New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission recently announced via a Stipulated Order the recovery of $34.2 million for more than 46,000 servicemembers and veterans that were alleged deceived and defrauded by national jewelry retailer, Harris Jewelry. The company allegedly used deceptive marketing tactics to lure active-duty servicemembers to their financing…

TCPA and Telemarketing Lead Generation Legal Update

Lead generators and those within the telemarketing ecosystem should know and appreciate the legal regulatory requirements, restrictions and risks prior to engaging such high-risk campaigns.  Violations of regulations, statutes and best practice guidelines can result in statutory penalties, as well as both personal and corporate. Below is a brief summary of recent legal developments may…

Use of Certain Technologies to Track Web Session Data May be Unlawful

Attention Lead Generators  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that use of certain technologies on a websites in order to track and record web session data before obtaining affirmative consent may be a violation of  California’s wiretap statute. In the case of Javier v. Assurance IQ, LLC and ActiveProspect Inc. (*not precedent except as…

FTC Contemplates Rules That Impose Monetary Penalties for Deceptive Earnings Claims and Targeted Marketing

On February 10, 2022 the Federal Trade Commission announced that it intends to vote whether to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on “deceptive earnings claims for business ventures, gig or other work opportunities, or educational, coaching or training offerings.”  The vote is set to take place on February 17, 2022 at an open…

FTC Alleges Facebook Resorted to Illegal Buy-or-Bury Scheme to Crush Competition

On August 19, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint against Facebook in the agency’s ongoing federal antitrust case.  The complaint alleges that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance.  According to the FTC, Facebook unlawfully acquired innovative…