Internet Law

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced its intention to rescind its 2020 “abusive acts and practices” policy statement.  The CFPB’s authority to prevent such practices stems from the Dodd-Frank Act, which also created the CFPB. In 2020, the CFPB set forth narrow principles that should be considered when applying its “abusive” authority.  The first,…

On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal court in Texas sentenced a former dietary supplement company executive to prison for his role in fraudulently selling popular workout supplements. A U.S. District Judge sentenced the former corporate vice president to 41 months’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release.  The…

Social media law attorney Richard B. Newman was recently quoted by NBC 7 San Diego in a piece entitled “Role of Social Media Sites in Riot on Capitol.” View the story, here. Richard B. Newman is an advertising practices attorney at Hinch Newman LLP.   Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. May be considered attorney advertising.

Social media endorsements: being transparent with your followers Influencer marketing and review websites have attracted a great deal of attention recently by states and federal regulatory agencies, including the FTC.  The FTC’s Endorsement Guides addresses the application of Section 5 of the FTC Act to the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The FTC Endorsement Guides suggest…

The Ninth Circuit recently held that a consumer was not bound by updated terms merely because she accessed a website that contained new terms in a “browsewrap” agreement on the website.  A browsewrap agreement is one that is attempted to be enforced against a website user by virtue of his/her use of a website.  Contrast…

As blogged about here and here, brands and intermediary agencies that they do business with are expected to train and monitor endorsers, utilize written social media policies, take appropriate remedial action and document all efforts to implement preventative advertising compliance measures, including those designed to ensure the clear and conspicuous disclosure of material  connections between advertisers and…