Middlemen Run Afoul of FTC Suspicions
Brokers, middlemen, and intermediaries serve an economic purpose: to put people who want a product or service in touch with a product maker or service provider. Real estate brokers help us buy and sell homes; mortgage brokers help us find lenders for our home purchases; manufacturing reps help get new products on our grocery shelves,…
Read MoreFTC Gets Serious About ‘Fake’ Reviews, Endorsements
In a cybermarket full of every product and service imaginable, advertisers go to great lengths to make their products stand out by grabbing consumers’ attention and interest. In recent years blogs have become a popular forum for sharing tips and information, and advertisers have used blogs to promote their products. While advertisers are perfectly entitled…
Read MoreHow to Sell E-cigarettes and Avoid an FTC Investigation
Customers are flocking to electronic cigarettes — battery-operated nicotine delivery devices that are meant to replicate the flavor and sensation of smoking a tobacco cigarette. While merchants and advertisers are understandably eager to participate in this growing industry, we predict that the FTC will be watching ads carefully in anticipation of enforcing its advertising rules.…
Read MoreNew Law Gives Enforcers Added Power Against Online Marketers
In the waning days of 2010, the lame-duck Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a law that is almost certainly going to have major effects on the affiliate marketing industry. The FTC is poised to begin enforcing the “Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act,” which is intended to protect consumers from deceptive online sales tactics –…
Read MoreFTC Issues New Rule on Mortgage Scammers
As the economic crisis continues for many homeowners, the Federal Trade Commission has taken actions to protect homeowners from mortgage relief scams. Most of the new requirements took effect on December 29, 2010, and all of the new requirements can be applied to affiliate marketers, who immediately need to be aware of the rule. The…
Read MoreSuit Against FTC Asks: Did Agency Change Advertising Rules in Middle of Game?
Is there a way to hold a government agency like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accountable for the cost to businesses of what a company says are abrupt and systemic changes in regulatory standards? POM Wonderful LLC, a Los Angeles-based juice company, is trying to do just that by suing the FTC in District Court.…
Read MoreIn Rare Ruling, Court Permits Discovery Into Motives Behind FTC Subpoena
When a U.S. magistrate judge in the District of Columbia issued his ruling in Federal Trade Commission v. Bisaro on July 13, 2010, permitting limited discovery of certain FTC officials regarding an agency subpoena, it had been more than three decades since the D.C. Circuit had found that “extraordinary circumstances” were present that warranted discovery…
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