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Fame, FTC, and Fine Print: Navigating Advertising Rules in an Evolving Landscape
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May 12, 2025
Fame, FTC, and Fine Print: Navigating Advertising Rules in an Evolving Landscape
By: Abbey Block
Ryan Seacrest is most well-known for his role as the charismatic host of popular television shows like American Idol and Wheel of Fortune. But more recently, Seacrest has taken on a new business venture, becoming the spokesperson for the social casino platform, Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino, launched in 2012, allows players to engage in online casino-style games. Seacrest began his partnership with the brand in December of 2023, and has been featured prominently in the platform’s promotional materials on social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. But Seacrest recently found himself in a bit of legal hot water, being named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit brought against Chumba’s parent company, VGW. In the lawsuit, plaintiff Aubrey Carillo alleges…
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California Actively Enforcing its Delete Act against Data Brokers
March 10, 2025
California Actively Enforcing its Delete Act against Data Brokers
By: Nicole Kardell
If you are a data broker and you are not registered in California, you may face sanctions, including fines and possible shut down of operations. The California Privacy Protection Agency is actively enforcing the state’s Delete Act, legislation that was enacted in 2023. The Delete Act requires entities that qualify as data brokers under the law to register annually with the CPPA and pay the…
FTC Cracking Down On Online Censorship
February 27, 2025
FTC Cracking Down On Online Censorship
By: Steven Eichorn
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently launched a public outreach effort to obtain information from the public regarding how they are treated by technology platforms. As explained by the FTC, they are seeking to “understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliation, and how this conduct may have violated the law.” This…
How Zappos Defused a Potential Online Privacy Crisis
March 23, 2012
How Zappos Defused a Potential Online Privacy Crisis
By: Ifrah Law
When hackers breached the computer systems of online retailer Zappos.com in January, they gained access to the personal information of up to 24 million customers. The information included customer names, billing and shipping addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. In a predictable response, customers immediately filed federal class action lawsuits against Zappos, and the attorneys general of nine states sent a joint letter to the…
Developers of New Apps Need to Consider Privacy Issues
February 22, 2012
Developers of New Apps Need to Consider Privacy Issues
By: Nicole Kardell
There’s been much talk of Google’s upcoming streamlined privacy policy. Now come new demands for cleaner, user-friendly data collection and usage disclosures in the mobile app world. Two recent events highlight changes that online advertisers and app developers need to prepare for: (1) a letter from Congressmen Henry Waxman and G.K. Butterfield to Apple regarding the security of user address books and contacts stored on…
HCG Marketers Face Hot Pursuit by FDA, FTC
January 8, 2012
HCG Marketers Face Hot Pursuit by FDA, FTC
By: Nicole Kardell
Putting a snag in New Year’s resolutions for pound-shedding, the FDA and the FTC recently sent out warning letters to several companies that sell HCG-based diet products online. (These companies include Nutri-Fusion Systems LLC, Natural Medical Supply, HCG Platinum, LLC, theoriginalhcgdrops.com, HCG Diet Direct, LLC, and Hcg-miracleweightloss.com.) The warning letters, which came at the outset of the holiday season (and just before the January windfall…
Inside the Privacy Event Keynoted By FTC Chair Leibowitz
October 19, 2011
Inside the Privacy Event Keynoted By FTC Chair Leibowitz
By: Nicole Kardell
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz delivered the keynote speech at a forum on Internet privacy on Oct. 11, 2011. He was part of a panel that discussed the protection of consumer data and the tracking of online consumer behavior. The Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society also released a study the same day showing that data collection on the Internet is not…
Is It a Real Breast Cancer Cause – Or ‘Pinkwashing’?
October 5, 2011
Is It a Real Breast Cancer Cause – Or ‘Pinkwashing’?
By: Nicole Kardell
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 that you have put some of your dollars toward the…
