Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission

FTC & HR Block Reach Proposed Settlement of Free Filing Case Challenging Agency Structure

The FTC brought administrative proceedings against tax preparation company H&R Block, arguing that the company had made deceptive statements about its “free filing” products. H&R Block brought an action in federal district court seeking to enjoin the administrative proceedings, challenging the FTC’s structure. Yesterday, the FTC announced the parties had reached a settlement of the […]

Whither consumer protection in a second Trump administration?

The future, they say, is the hardest thing to predict. With that caveat, what can we expect from a second Trump administration for consumer prediction? Some quick thoughts: President-elect Trump will surely ask CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to resign so that he can replace Chopra with someone he prefers. Despite the fact that Vice President-elect […]

FTC sends $2.5 million to consumers deceived by Credit Karma’s “pre-approved” credit offers

The Federal Trade Commission took action against Credit Karma in 2022, alleging that the company told consumers they were “pre-approved” and had “90% odds” of approval to entice them to apply for credit card offers that, in many instances, they ultimately did not qualify for. Credit Karma later agreed to to stop making these types […]

FTC finalizes “Click-to-Cancel” Rule

Today, the FTC announced it had finalized its “Click-to-Cancel Rule.” Amending its 1973 “Negative Option Rule,” the rule will prohibit sellers from: misrepresenting any material fact made while marketing goods or services with a negative option feature; failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms prior to obtaining a consumer’s billing information in connection with […]

FTC settles with AI “Lawyer” DoNotPay

A company called “DoNotPay” operated an artificial intelligence service that it called  “the world’s first robot lawyer,” which it claimed “would allow consumers to “sue for assault without a lawyer” and “generate perfectly valid legal documents in no time.” Not surprisingly, the product did not live up to its claims. In late September, the FTC […]

CFPB, FTC highlight medical debt, dark patterns in debt collection reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission this week issued their annual reporting of their debt collection activities. The CFPB, required under the Consumer Financial Protection Act to report to Congress annually on its activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, recounted its ongoing work on medical debt. Notably, in […]

FTC settles deceptive advertising and subscription claims with Care.com

Care.com is an online platform that matches child and older adult caregivers with consumers looking to hire such caregivers. In a federal court complaint filed yesterday, the FTC alleges that Care systematically deceived caregivers who were looking for jobs while failing to give families seeking care a simple way to cancel their paid memberships, in […]

FTC Issues Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials

Finalizing a rulemaking began in November 2022, the FTC yesterday unanimously approved a rule that (1) prohibits fake or false consumer reviews and testimonials, including those generated by AI and influencers; (2) prohibiting businesses from paying consumers for reviews based on their expressing a particular sentiment; (3) requiring reviews and testimonials written by company insiders […]

Busy week at the Federal Trade Commission

FTC Sends Nearly $1.9 Million in Refunds to Customers Harmed by Hey Dude’s Violations of the Mail Order Rule (8/6) FTC Action Leads to Permanent Bans for Scammers Behind Sprawling Credit Repair Pyramid Scheme (8/5) FTC Investigation Leads to Lawsuit Against TikTok and ByteDance for Flagrantly Violating Children’s Privacy Law (8/2) FTC Submits Comment to […]

Court temporarily stops student loan relief scam

A federal court this month issued an order, in a case filed by the Federal Trade Commission, to temporarily stop a predatory student loan relief scam that targeted Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking borrowers. According to the FTC’s complaint against USA Student Debt Relief/Start Connecting SAS, operating out of Florida and Cali, Colombia, these entities falsely represented […]