Compliance Now

If you didn’t receive a warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission this month you are one of the lucky ones. The FTC has sent warning letters to hundreds of companies over the past several weeks. Using its Penalty Offense Authority, the FTC sent Notices of Penalty Offenses to more than 700 of the U.S.’s largest consumer products companies as [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has warned hundreds of consumer product companies and for-profit schools that they may be engaging in unfair or deceptive behaviors that could result in future enforcement action if these behaviors do not change. The FTC was focused on two issues: 1) deceptive testimonials and endorsements, and 2) performance claims. The warnings signal the FTC’s intent to [...]

Once upon a time, subscriptions were something customers signed up for that resulted in a magazine or newspaper arriving for a set amount of time. Today? Subscriptions have become the norm. From Netflix and Audible at home to subscriptions for Adobe and Microsoft for work, it is clear that business models have evolved. Subscriptions can be convenient for consumers, and [...]

A regulatory compliance audit is an assessment of a business’s policies, procedures, and practices against an established set of legal requirements or industry best practices. You may be evaluating your telemarketing practices against requirements of the TCPA and other telemarketing laws, your marketing campaigns against UDAP regulations, or your privacy framework against new CCPA demands. You might also be assessing [...]

A conversation with Helen Mac Murray, Founding Partner, Mac Murray & Shuster, LLP Do You Need to Worry About Consumer Protection Laws? The short answer is yes. A quick primer: Consumer protection laws are an important tool in the arsenals of state attorneys general (AGs), and their offices are quick to take targeted enforcement action against any business found [...]

On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed Democrat Lina Kahn as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Kahn’s term will last through September 2024 as she takes over the position previously held by FTC Chair Joseph Simmons, who resigned in January 2021. With both Democrats and Republicans focusing on helping state and federal antitrust enforcers combat Big Tech’s [...]

“The courts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried.” — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor These words lend wisdom and provide insight to parties trying to decide how best to resolve a [...]

A Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Checklist for Your Organization Maintaining compliance with important privacy and other consumer protection regulations is not something you can afford to set and forget. If your business engages directly with consumers, or supports other businesses that do, there are specific compliance-focused tasks that should be part of your ongoing operations. It’s critical to stay on [...]

The Supreme Court issued a ruling that will limit the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to collect restitution when companies are found to have violated the FTC Act by engaging in false advertising. In its Opinion, the Court stated, “The question presented is whether th[e] statutory language authorizes the Commission to seek, and a court to award, equitable monetary relief such [...]