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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…
FTC Is Asked to Crack Down on ‘Supercookies’ as Data Privacy Violation
September 28, 2011
FTC Is Asked to Crack Down on ‘Supercookies’ as Data Privacy Violation
By: Nicole Kardell
The bastard stepchild of online behavioral advertising – the supercookie – is in the hot seat. Two members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the FTC on September 27 calling on the commission to look into the usage and impact of supercookies on consumers. Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.), co-chairmen of the bipartisan privacy caucus in the House, sent…
Prepaid Phone Companies Dial a Wrong Number at the FCC
September 12, 2011
Prepaid Phone Companies Dial a Wrong Number at the FCC
By: Nicole Kardell
Companies marketing prepaid phone cards should be on the lookout: the Federal Communications Commission is threatening more-severe penalties for deceptive advertising. The prepaid phone card business is pretty profitable, with the industry raking in billions every year. Plastering phone cards with names like “Africa Magic” and “Hola Amigo,” prepaid calling card companies target immigrant populations, advertising thousands of minutes of talk time to immigrants’ native…
Google Agrees to Forfeit $500 Million: What Does This Mean for Affiliate Marketers?
August 29, 2011
Google Agrees to Forfeit $500 Million: What Does This Mean for Affiliate Marketers?
By: Jeff Ifrah
In an unusual and little-noticed recent settlement, Google Inc. has agreed to pay a forfeiture of $500 million because it permitted Canadian pharmacies to advertise to United States consumers on its site using Google AdWords, resulting in the illegal sale of prescription drugs through online channels into the United States between 2003 and 2009. The U.S. Department of Justice announced this agreement on August 24,…
What Priorities Will FTC Stress in Its Impending Online Advertising Guidelines?
August 21, 2011
What Priorities Will FTC Stress in Its Impending Online Advertising Guidelines?
By: Nicole Kardell
If you advertise or sell over the Internet, be aware that changes are afoot at the FTC that will affect your business. The Commission is in the midst of revamping its Dot Com Disclosures, guidelines it prepared back in 2000 regarding online advertising. It issued a request for public comment on prospective revisions in late May. Now that the comment period has ended in early…
FTC’s Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule May Not Help Consumers
August 15, 2011
FTC’s Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule May Not Help Consumers
By: Nicole Kardell
The FTC recently issued the Mortgage Acts and Practices – Advertising Final Rule. This rule is the FTC’s response to a congressional directive to address unfair or deceptive acts in the mortgage loan industry. Briefly, the MAP Rule (1) gives the FTC and state authorities the ability to seek civil penalties for deceptive mortgage advertising, (2) clarifies and provides examples of what constitutes deceptive mortgage…
