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FTC’s Scrutiny of Non-Compete Agreements Provides Key Lessons for Businesses
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August 3, 2026
FTC’s Scrutiny of Non-Compete Agreements Provides Key Lessons for Businesses
By: Jordan Briggs
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced it finalized a consent order with pest control company Rollins, Inc. that requires Rollins to stop enforcing its existing non-compete agreements with over 18,000 employees.[1] This consent order signals that although the FTC stopped pursuing an outright ban on employee non-compete agreements,[2] the agency is still poised to limit the anticompetitive effects of these non-competes. The Rollins Complaint gives insight into certain common non-compete pitfalls to avoid. Non-compete agreements are a relatively common tool used by companies in specialized industries to minimize the harm to the company if an employee joins a competitor. These agreements allow the company to restrict an employee’s ability to work for or start a competing business after leaving…
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Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
July 15, 2026
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
By: Nicole Kardell
Note the below chart was updated on July 15, 2026 to reflect recent developments. The number of U.S. states that have adopted privacy laws grows regularly. Fortunately, there seems to be quite a bit of crossover, at least when it comes to thresholds that companies must meet in order to trigger compliance requirements. We provide below a chart that summarizes these thresholds by state, including…
From Paper to Blockchain: How Tokenized Collateral Could Transform Finance
July 1, 2026
From Paper to Blockchain: How Tokenized Collateral Could Transform Finance
By: John Mikuta
Our financial system is on the verge of a groundbreaking transformation that could rival the shift from film to digital photography. Just as smartphones made it instantaneous to capture and share pictures, blockchain-based tokenization of traditional assets could make financial transactions just as seamless. Even though we are now over a quarter of the way through the 21st century, today’s financial infrastructure hasn’t caught up…
“Heartbleed” Bug – Antibiotics Won’t Help, Changing Passwords Might
April 14, 2014
“Heartbleed” Bug – Antibiotics Won’t Help, Changing Passwords Might
By: Michelle Cohen
After recovering from high-profile data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus, signing up for free credit monitoring and analyzing our credit reports, a new Internet villain recently emerged: the “Heartbleed Bug.” The Heartbleed Bug is a security flaw present on Open SSL, popular software run on most webservers. This open source software is widely used to encrypt web communications. The Heartbleed Bug affects approximately 500,000…
TCPA Litigation Explosion Leads to Rule Clarifications
April 10, 2014
TCPA Litigation Explosion Leads to Rule Clarifications
By: Michelle Cohen
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 from TCPA liability in certain enumerated circumstances. Two recent FCC…
FTC Sends Message: Make Your Mobile App Secure
April 7, 2014
FTC Sends Message: Make Your Mobile App Secure
By: Ifrah Law
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 and two companies offering unsecured mobile application products gives cause…
Herbalife Hit with Civil Investigative Demand – Is the FTC Finally Turning up the Heat on Multi-Level Marketers?
March 27, 2014
Herbalife Hit with Civil Investigative Demand – Is the FTC Finally Turning up the Heat on Multi-Level Marketers?
By: Ifrah Law
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 scheme, and its business practices have already drawn the scrutiny…
FTC Secures Nine Figure Judgment Against Single Co-Defendant in Scareware Case
March 19, 2014
FTC Secures Nine Figure Judgment Against Single Co-Defendant in Scareware Case
By: Ifrah Law
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 eight codefendants: Innovative Marketing, Inc., ByteHosting Internet Services, LLC, and…
