The Bottom Line The FTC has revised its Endorsement Guides to take into account how businesses reach modern consumers in the digital era. Brands, agencies and influencers should revisit their standard policies and practices now to ensure they comply with the FTC’s new guidance.Many commonly used Continue Reading
New York Expands Scope of Negligent Supervision and Retention Claims Against Employers
The Bottom Line Prospective customers (not just existing customers) may pursue claims against New York employers arising from an employee's misconduct under the doctrine of negligent supervision and retention. But the facts must still show that the employer owed a duty to the prospective customer Continue Reading
14 Years in the Making: FTC Unveils Updated FTC Endorsement Guides
The Bottom Line It has been a busy week for the FTC – and expect the regulators to keep churning. The FTC is likely already on the hunt for a test case to apply the newly revised Endorsement Guides.Now is the time to get ahead of the updates and audit both internal and external influencer and Continue Reading
Aspirational Green Claims: NARB Finds Net Zero Claims Unsupported
The Bottom Line A recent decision from NARB helps illustrate the fine line between a feasible plan to achieve an environmental goal, and the exploratory stages of an aspirational effort.Environmental marketing claims continue to present risk and may lead to challenges – companies must ensure that Continue Reading
A Prime Example of Dark Patterns? FTC Sues Amazon for Use of “Dark Patterns” in Prime Enrollment
The Bottom Line: The FTC’s lawsuit is likely to be the first of many alleging the use of “dark patterns” in e-commerce and is instructive as to the specific types of practices the FTC will find deceptive in the future.Against the backdrop of the FTC’s revisions to the Negative Option Rule, the Continue Reading
An (Im)Perfect 10: Indiana, Tennessee, Montana & Texas Pass Consumer Privacy Laws
The Bottom Line There are now 10 states with comprehensive privacy laws, with more on the way.Without federal legislation, a patchwork of state laws may be the standard going forward, much in the same way that data breach notification laws eventually became ubiquitous at the state level. In Continue Reading
Roblox Found in Violation of CARU’s Advertising Guidelines
The Bottom Line The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a self-regulatory organization that monitors advertising directed to children under the age of 13, found Roblox violated its Self-Regulatory Advertising Guidelines. CARU claimed that advertising on Roblox often did not include Continue Reading
Sanctions Against Google Show Importance of Litigation Document Preservation
The Bottom Line Companies should be aware that their document preservation obligations apply to all forms of internal communications, including chats and other instant messenger applications.When instituting a litigation hold, companies should check the default settings of all electronic document Continue Reading
The Warnings Were Real: FTC Takes Action Against Ed Tech Company for COPPA Violation
The Bottom Line The legal responsibility for complying with COPPA remains with the ed tech provider — not schools, students or parents.Ed tech providers may rely on schools to authorize data collection in lieu of parental consent only if the information collected from children is used solely for Continue Reading
Talking Trash: Takeaways from FTC Workshop on Recyclable Claims
The Bottom Line The FTC is continuing its review of the Green Guides and companies should stay tuned for further updates.The FTC is accepting public comments on "recyclable" claims through June 13, 2023. The FTC is in the process of reviewing – and potentially revising – its Guides for the Continue Reading