FTC

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…

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…

In 2018, the FTC held a series of hearings on consumer protection in the 21st Century.  The hearings are similar to 1995 policy research hearings under former FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky

Largest Real Estate Scam Ever Challenged by the FTC A federal court in Maryland has issued an order temporarily shutting down the largest overseas real estate investment scam the FTC has ever targeted. According to FTC defense lawyer Richard B. Newman, the Federal Trade Commission, the promoter made promises about a tropical paradise called Sanctuary…

The Federal Trade Commission recently launched a tool to view the agency’s consumer complaint data. The data will be reported on a quarterly basis, whereas the agency previously released such data on an annual basis only. Users can see data from 2014, and search it by geographic region and the type of scam. It also…