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A Blog About FTC regulations and happenings

In the latest blow to businesses seeking to offer digital tokens or cryptocurrencies to consumers, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on Wednesday that Kik Interactive Inc.’s offering of its Kin digital token violated Section 5 of the federal Securities Act, granting summary judgment to the Securities and Exchange Commission in its lawsuit against Kik. Kik operates an application called Kik Messenger, and its Kin cryptocurrency was marketed as being designed to be used across a variety of digital applications, including applications not operated by Kik.  Among the examples provided for Kin was the ability to use it to purchase digital music, or to access premium features in a gaming application.  During the initial private and public sales in 2017, Kik sold approximately $100 million worth of Kin, and in the time since the initial sale, dozens of applications have introduced the ability to spend or earn Kin in their application. Last year, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Kik alleging violations of... Read more

In the eyes of federal investigators, when is a payment processor considered a benevolent alternative to traditional banks, and when is it viewed as a shady facilitator of all things criminal?  In other words, is the client another Paypal or Venmo, or are we looking at a potential WireCard AG prosecution? We have noticed in… Read More

The privacy world is abuzz about the European Court of Justice’s July 16, 2020 decision in Schrems II: Europe’s highest court invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield framework. The Privacy Shield provides a streamlined mechanism to facilitate personal data transfers from Europe to the U.S. It was implemented in 2016 following the invalidation of an earlier… Read More

On July 6, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with gaming app developer Miniclip S.A. The settlement addresses allegations that Miniclip falsely claimed membership in a Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) safe harbor program for the last several years. Miniclip boasts more than 1 billion downloads of its 45 “high-quality mobile games”… Read More

The FTC recently announced its settlement with Tapplock, Inc., a maker of smart padlocks (Internet-connected fingerprint-enabled padlocks that you can use in lieu of old-fashioned combo locks). The FTC investigated the Canadian-based company for its allegedly false claims that its Internet-connected smart locks were designed to be “unbreakable” and that the company took reasonable steps… Read More

Does your company’s privacy policy include a claim that it is Privacy-Shield certified? If so, you should ensure that it is, in fact, certified and that the certification has not lapsed. Failures in this area are low-hanging fruit for government enforcement actions.   A little background on the Privacy Shield Framework.  The U.S. Privacy Shield framework… Read More

Telemarketing Restrictions During State of Emergency
April 7, 2020

Telemarketing Restrictions During State of Emergency

By: Nicole Kardell

  If part of your marketing plan involves calls to consumers, please be aware of additional telemarketing restrictions in some states (presently New York and Louisiana) during a state of emergency.   New York New York recently enacted a law to prohibit unsolicited telemarketing calls during a state of emergency. Since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo… Read More

As businesses that make telemarketing or automated/prerecorded phone calls and send text messages and telemarketing faxes are well aware, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) imposes certain restrictions on communications sent without the recipient’s express consent or permission.  Many courts view the “prior express consent” or permission requirement quite broadly.  And just this week,… Read More