The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a new rule to fight two common types of illegal tactics consumers face when buying a car: bait-and-switch tactics and hidden junk fees. The FTC expects the rule to save consumers nationwide more than $3.4 billion and an estimated 72 million hours each year shopping for vehicles. The FTC’s […]
Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, owner of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, filed a lawsuit this week in Washington, DC challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Trade Commission. The complaint questions FTC’s longstanding structure and processes, including the agency’s administrative proceedings, its executive authority (although it is led by presidentially-nominated and Congressionally-confirmed commissioners), and its authority to protect […]
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $3 million in refunds to businesses that paid for memberships to HomeAdvisor, Inc., a company affiliated with Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List). The agency is also sending claim forms to businesses that are eligible for additional refunds. The refunds stem from FTC allegations that HomeAdvisor used […]
The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission recently released notices to gather information on the use of advanced technologies in consumer sectors that the regulators oversee. The FCC announced that it is exploring emerging AI technologies and their connection to its work to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal calls and text messages […]
The Federal Trade Commission issued 3 press releases this morning: FTC Case Leads to Permanent Ban Against Merchant Cash Advance Owner for Deceiving Small Businesses, Seizing Personal and Business Assets FTC Releases Reports on Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Sales and Marketing Expenditures for 2022 FTC Sends Nearly $100 Million in Refunds to Vonage Consumers Who […]
New data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that scams originating on social media have accounted for $2.7 billion in reported losses since 2021, more than any other contact method. The FTC says that the most frequently reported scams on social media are related to online shopping, with 44 percent of reports pointing to fraud […]
The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau together filed an amicus brief in a case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in support of consumer protections under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The agencies’ brief supports the appeal of the district court’s decision in Suluki v. Credit One Bank, NA. […]
Today, the FTC, along with 17 state attorneys general, sued Amazon in the Western District of Washington, arguing that it “is a monopolist that uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.” The lawsuit alleges anticompetitive conduct both in the consumer-facing market, and in the services Amazon offers […]
The FTC’s Penalty Offenses authority seems good for consumers and businesses. It allows the FTC to warn businesses about specific practices that would constitute unfair and deceptive conduct under its statute, the FTC Act, with the threat of punishing penalties if they nevertheless engaged in the conduct. This warning ideally deters the misconduct and eliminates […]
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in AMG Capital Management v. FTC continues to hamper the Federal Trade Commission’s work, and the Commission rightly is shining a spotlight on it. In a recently announced enforcement action, the FTC lamented the AMG decision, which it said limited its ability to secure refunds for duped investors of […]