eCommerce
FTC and Illinois Take Action to Stop Alleged Deceptive Conduct by Company Related to Purported Fake Business Listings
By Richard B. Newman |
On May 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the FTC, and the state of Illinois sued Chicago-based company Premium Home Service and its owner for allegedly fraudulently creating thousands of fake online business listings for home repair companies to purportedly deceive consumers into thinking they…
FTC Gearing Up for TAKE IT DOWN Act Enforcement
By Richard B. Newman |
Effective May 19, 2026, the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (Pub. L. No. 119–12), otherwise known as the Take it Down Act, becomes effective. The Federal Trade Commission possesses statutory authority to enforce the Take it Down Act. What this means is that covered platforms (defined…
New York AG Secures Over $5M from Crypto Platform for Alleged Promotion of Fraudulent Investment Scheme
By Richard B. Newman |
On April 29, 2026, the Office of the New York Attorney General announced that it has secured more than $5 million from the cryptocurrency platform Uphold HQ, Inc. (Uphold) for allegedly misleading investors and promoting a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme purportedly orchestrated by Cred, LLC (Cred) and it’s Chief Executive Officer. According to the OAG, an…
FTC Takes Action Against MLM Participants That Allegedly Deceived Workers About the Amount of Money They Could Earn
By Richard B. Newman |
In April 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against high-level participants in a multilevel marketing company over allegations they used false or baseless earning claims to recruit workers, most of whom did not earn any money. The FTC alleged in a complaint that senior-level participants in a MLM called LifeWave, deceived consumers…
FTC Announces Action Against Company for Alleged Unsubstantiated Claims and Fake Social Media Profiles
By Richard B. Newman |
On April 13, 2026, the FTC announced that a company and its two principals agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission’s charges that they deceptively advertised the effectiveness of a range of supplements touted as supporting height growth in children and teenagers, and allegedly relied on reviews that were written by their own employees and vendors,…
New York Attorney General Warns of Investment Scams on Meta Platforms
By Richard B. Newman |
On April 6, 2026, the Office of the New York Attorney General issued an “investor alert” to warn New Yorkers about the purported prevalence of fraudulent investment schemes proliferating across Meta platforms, including on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. According to the NY OAG, ”scammers are increasingly using deceptive advertisements and ‘deepfake’ technology to lure investors…