Category: Deceptive Advertising Law
In Time for Bikini Season, Kardashians Face Lawsuit Over Endorsement of Diet Aids
Kim Kardashian, the reality star, is accustomed to the public eye, but now she faces a lawsuit that may not bring her good publicity at all. Along with her sisters Khloe and Kourtney, Kim has been named as a defendant earlier this year in a class action over QuickTrim, a dietary supplement that they have… Read More
Why POM Wonderful Can Celebrate FTC Judge’s Ruling in Advertising Case
Pomegranate juice maker POM Wonderful has declared victory against the FTC . . . in spite of an administrative law judge’s ruling that upholds many claims in the agency’s complaint. But the California company has good reason to celebrate: certain FTC standards, the ones that POM cried foul on, were rejected by the court. The… Read More
Should FTC Protect Gamers Against Unhappy Endings?
Whether you or not you are an avid gamer, you have probably realized that a significant segment of the general population takes gaming quite seriously. Probably a little too seriously sometimes. It seems that the ending to the popular game Mass Effect 3 (“ME3”), which is produced by BioWare, disappointed many devoted players so much… Read More
In Nutella Advertising Case, Whom Is the System Protecting?
The world is full of surprises, like the fact that Nutella chocolate spread is loaded with saturated fat and sugar and is not itself healthy. Ferrero USA, Inc., the company that makes Nutella, learned the hard way that many American parents could not survive (nor perhaps could their children) without the aid and intervention of… Read More
Is It a Real Breast Cancer Cause – Or ‘Pinkwashing’?
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. And pink is everywhere – all over the shelves of retail stores like Wal-Mart and adorning the backs of NFL linemen. We’ve been trained to know that the color pink represents a supporter of breast cancer awareness or research. So sporting a pink ribbon, jersey, or band should demonstrate… Read More
FTC Is Asked to Crack Down on ‘Supercookies’ as Data Privacy Violation
The bastard stepchild of online behavioral advertising – the supercookie – is in the hot seat. Two members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the FTC on September 27 calling on the commission to look into the usage and impact of supercookies on consumers. Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.),… Read More
What Priorities Will FTC Stress in Its Impending Online Advertising Guidelines?
If you advertise or sell over the Internet, be aware that changes are afoot at the FTC that will affect your business. The Commission is in the midst of revamping its Dot Com Disclosures, guidelines it prepared back in 2000 regarding online advertising. It issued a request for public comment on prospective revisions in late… Read More
Feds Should Think Twice About Regulating For-Profit Colleges
Business is booming at America’s for-profit colleges. With steady high unemployment rates, many of the job-hungry have opted to pursue higher or specialized degrees in an effort to make themselves more marketable. Pricy for-profit institutions, like the 400,000 strong University of Phoenix, are flourishing with this increased demand as students flock to their courses to… Read More
FTC Files First Lawsuit Against ‘Text Spam’
Spam seems to be everywhere these days, and it has now invaded your wireless handheld. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission filed its first lawsuit ever against an alleged perpetrator of “spam texting” – the practice of sending unsolicited commercial text messages to a large number of people. The FTC is alleging that Phillip Flora… Read More
Does Google Need to Police Its Ads for Fraud?
Do Google and other search engines have an obligation to screen their advertisers for those who may be perpetrating consumer fraud? Google has said in the past that its AdWords Content Policy will reject advertisements for sites that make false claims and that it investigates and removes any ads that violate Google’s internal policies, but… Read More
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