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Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
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January 15, 2025
Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
By: Jordan Briggs
Drawn in by the appeal of steady revenue, nearly three-quarters of direct-to-consumer companies now include a subscription model.[1] Everything has a subscription these days: video games, groceries, dating apps—you can even subscribe to a service to cancel your other subscriptions.[2] These subscriptions were not deterred from joining their most prominent predecessor (the gym membership) as an age-old punchline about how hard they are to cancel. However, cancelling subscriptions started to look less like a joke and more like a “trick” or even a “trap,”[3] so the FTC stepped in with the “click-to-cancel” rule to provide clarity to both companies and consumers on what the subscription cancellation process should look like. The click-to-cancel rule is the headliner for a few new…
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Temporary relief from compliance obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act
December 5, 2024
Temporary relief from compliance obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act
By: Steven Eichorn
On December 3, 2024, a U.S. District Court[1] issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that enjoins the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (the CTA)[2]. The CTA requires “reporting companies” in the United States to disclose basic identifying information about their beneficial owners — the individuals who ultimately own or control a company — to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The…
Will Free Speech Become Expensive for Big Tech?
December 2, 2024
Will Free Speech Become Expensive for Big Tech?
By: James Trusty
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act[1] is the federal law that allows internet platforms to host online content without fear of lawsuits based on third party content. In other words, for hosting free speech, internet providers are given immunity from liability if the speech somehow crosses the line from protected free speech into unprotected territory (defamatory, criminal solicitation, etc.). With the recent presidential and…
New Federal Court Decision Counsels “Clear and Conspicuous” Advertisement of Alternative Means of Sweepstakes Entry – Coinbase Suit Proceeds
January 12, 2022
New Federal Court Decision Counsels “Clear and Conspicuous” Advertisement of Alternative Means of Sweepstakes Entry – Coinbase Suit Proceeds
By: Jacob Grubman
Most states require that companies offering sweepstakes allow entry without requiring purchase or other consideration. This alternate means of entry, or “AMOE,” avoids liability under gambling and lottery statutes by removing the “consideration” element in state gambling and lottery laws. A recent decision in California federal court has shed new light on how sweepstakes operators must publicize these alternative means of entry (“AMOE”), underscoring…
Law Firms Champing at the Bit(coin)
December 10, 2021
Law Firms Champing at the Bit(coin)
By: James Trusty
Cryptocurrencies, such as the industry leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum, appear to be on the slow march towards popular acceptance as legitimate means of payment. As evidence of both legitimacy and the sluggishness of acceptance, several Bar Associations have weighed in with opinions on the ability of lawyers to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for legal services. The most recent moment of a Bar Association dipping a…
FTC Tells Advertisers – Fake Reviews and Endorsements Are Going to Cost You
October 14, 2021
FTC Tells Advertisers – Fake Reviews and Endorsements Are Going to Cost You
By: Michelle Cohen
Does your company or its affiliate advertisers use celebrities or influencers to market your services? Do you use customer reviews to promote your offerings? The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), energized by new Chairperson Lina Khan, just sent out notices to over 700 companies – including many household names (https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/penalty-offenses-concerning-endorsements/list-recipients-endorsement-notice.pdf) warning them about using fake reviews and other misleading endorsements in advertising their products and services….
Supreme Court rules that FTC cannot seek disgorgement under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act
July 12, 2021
Supreme Court rules that FTC cannot seek disgorgement under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act
By: Ifrah Law
Last October, we reported on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Federal Trade Commission v. AbbVie, Inc., in which the appeals court overturned a trial court’s decision ordering $448 million in disgorgement pursuant to Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Act against a group of businesses accused of trying to monopolize and restrain trade over a patented drug called AndroGel. At…
Plot thickens in FTC disgorgement debate, as $448 million award is reversed
October 2, 2020
Plot thickens in FTC disgorgement debate, as $448 million award is reversed
By: Ifrah Law
As previously reported in this space, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument in its upcoming term regarding whether the Federal Trade Commission was authorized to seek monetary relief such as disgorgement or restitution under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. These cases do not just call into question the availability of a certain remedy; they may also have far-reaching impacts on the FTC’s…
