TCPA Litigation Explosion Leads to Rule Clarifications
Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing, fax marketing, and prerecorded/auto-dialed phone calls. Recently, there has been an explosion in TCPA litigation, including class action litigation. In response, several parties have asked the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to clarify certain of the agency’s TCPA rules to provide relief…
Read MoreFTC Sends Message: Make Your Mobile App Secure
Mobile payments have become so commonplace that consumers rarely stop to think about whether their online payment is secure. Mobile app developers can fall into a similar trap of assuming that the necessary security measures are enabled without performing the necessary audits to assure security on a regular basis. A recent settlement between the FTC…
Read MoreHerbalife Hit with Civil Investigative Demand – Is the FTC Finally Turning up the Heat on Multi-Level Marketers?
For many, the announcement two weeks ago that the Federal Trade Commission has commenced a formal investigation into Herbalife was not terribly interesting. After all, nutritional supplement company Herbalife has been the focus of intermittent media attention since December 2012 when Wall Street hedge fund manager Bill Ackman claimed that it was an illegal pyramid…
Read MoreFTC Secures Nine Figure Judgment Against Single Co-Defendant in Scareware Case
After the FTC secured a $163MM judgment against Kristy Ross in the US District Court of Maryland, the 4th Circuit affirmed, and so ends the FTC’s six-year “scareware” enforcement action. From beginning to end, this odyssey has been quite colorful, to say the least. The nine-figure judgment against Ross is no exception. Originally, there were…
Read MoreElectronic Cigarette Advertising Practices Draw Legislative Attention – Will Regulations Follow?
Advertisements for electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” are increasingly drawing scrutiny from consumer advocates and public health groups who are calling for the federal government to regulate these advertisements in the same manner that traditional cigarette advertisements are regulated. The e-cigarette industry is growing at a rapid pace, particularly among younger people. Last year, the industry…
Read MoreAttorney General Holder Calls on Congress to Establish Strong National Data Breach Notification Standard
By Michelle Cohen, CIPP-US Yesterday, in his weekly video address, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress to create a national data breach notification standard requiring companies to quickly notify consumers of a breach of their personal or financial information. In the wake of the high profile holiday season data breaches at retailers Target and Neiman Marcus,…
Read MoreTCPA Not Violated When Consumer Voluntarily Provided Number to Business
A federal court in California recently ruled that a plaintiff who was required to enter her phone number to purchase a plane ticket online had consented to receive a text message, and dismissed her claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). A plaintiff’s prior express consent is a major issue in TCPA litigation and…
Read MoreOverstock Case Could Alter the Landscape of Price Comparison Advertising
A California court ruled earlier this month that Overstock must pay a roughly $6.8 million penalty to settle claims that the retailer “routinely and systematically” made false and misleading claims about the prices of its products on its website. If upheld, this ruling could have significant effects on how companies use price comparisons in advertisements…
Read MoreData Privacy Day
By Michelle Cohen, CIPP-US On January 28th, in an effort raise awareness of privacy and data privacy, the United States, Canada and 27 countries of the European Union celebrate International Data Privacy Day. Many organizations use Data Privacy Day as an opportunity to educate their employees and stakeholders about privacy-related topics. With the recent, high-profile data…
Read MoreFTC Clamps Down on EU Safe Harbor Compliance: If Your Company Says It Is Certified, Keep Your Certification Current
Once again using its administrative litigation process, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced settlements with twelve large businesses, including the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos football teams, the Baker Tilly accounting firm, BitTorrent, Inc., a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol, Level 3 Communications (one of the largest Internet service providers in the world), and Reynolds Consumer Products,…
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