If anyone thought the FTC had slowed down, this episode says otherwise. Michele talks through a run of recent enforcement actions that share two things: very large penalties and familiar themes. On hidden and mandatory fees, the agency sent warning letters to 97 auto dealers about total price disclosures, reached a $10 million order with StubHub, took action against Hopper over its “no hidden fees” claims, and secured $100 million from FleetCor (now Corpay) and its CEO over undisclosed fuel card fees. Subscriptions and cancellations are still a priority even after the FTC’s proposed auto-renewal rule fell through, as Shutterstock’s $35 million settlement shows. We also cover Amway’s $225 million payment over unsubstantiated earnings claims, a fake review scheme that boosted ratings for home improvement companies, and OkCupid sharing sensitive profile data in violation of its own privacy policy.
Then, Chad moves to state privacy. Delaware has lowered the applicability threshold under its Personal Data Privacy Act from 35,000 consumers to 10,000 and tightened rules for sensitive data. That makes it a good time to revisit your privacy applicability questionnaire. In California, Governor Newsom vetoed a ban on selling sensitive personal information but signed a bill that expands CCPA deletion rights and adds security obligations for businesses.
The short version: advertise your total price, get clear consent for every charge, make cancellation easy, substantiate your claims, and keep your reviews real. Next time we’ll take a closer look at New Jersey’s privacy law, which is now in effect.
