Fashion Nova, an online fashion retailer, agreed to pay $4.2 million as part of a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in which it will be prohibited from suppressing customer reviews of its products. The FTC alleged in a complaint that Fashion Nova misrepresented that the product reviews on its website reflected the views of…
Over the years, the Federal Trade Commission has emerged as the de facto traffic cop in addressing cybersecurity breaches. Two recent cases sought to challenge the FTC’s authority in this area. The first was Wyndham Worldwide Corporation which challenged the FTC’s authority over data security only to have the Third Circuit affirm’s the FTC’s authority. The…
Venmo, a peer-to-peer mobile payment app acquired by PayPal, reached a consent decree over deceptive practices and privacy and data security issues. Funds Availability Policy The FTC charged that Venmo falsely represented that once a user credited their account the money could be freely transferred to your bank account. In reality, despite many complaints, Venmo…
In 2010, AT&T dropped its “unlimited” mobile data plans in favor of tiered pricing but grandfathered in existing customers. Well, sort of. By 2011, AT&T began “data throttling” unlimited data plan users who exceeded preset data limits regardless of actual network congestion. AT&T made some limited disclosures of this practice, but it did not inform…
FTC and Influencer Marketing with Jeffrey A. Greenbaum LISTEN/DOWNLOAD Jeffrey A. Greenbaum, Managing Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit, returns to discuss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) increased focus on Influencer Marketing. Topics Covered State of the FTC Honored that @POTUS has expressed his intent to nominate me as a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal…
The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Nevada have filed a lawsuit against the operators of the revenge porn site MyEx.com under both the FTC Act and Nevada’s anti-revenge porn law. This is only the second time the FTC has acted against revenge porn sites. The Complaint is a major statement from the…
The Federal Trade Commission recently settled with “TmarTn” Martin and Thomas “Syndicate” Cassell, two social media influencers who are widely followed in the online gaming community, on charges that they deceptively endorsed the online gambling service CSGO Lotto, while failing to disclose they jointly owned the company. They also allegedly paid other well-known influencers thousands of…
In 2014, press reports revealed that Uber employees improperly accessed riders’ personal information using an internal company tool called the “God View.” To respond to the controversy, Uber posted this statement on its site: Uber has a strict policy prohibiting all employees at every level from accessing a rider or driver’s data. The only…
New acting Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Maureen K. Ohlhausen announced as her first major policy initiative for the agency – Occupational Licensing Reform. This will be the focus of the FTC’s new Economic Liberty Task Force. As the FTC explains; Nearly thirty percent of American jobs require a license today, up from less than five percent…
In a 2013 Executive Order “Improving Critical 69 Infrastructure Cybersecurity,” President Obama called for the development of a voluntary risk-based Cybersecurity Framework – a set of industry standards and best practices to help organizations manage cybersecurity risks. The first such Framework was released in 2015 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working…
The Federal Trade Commission regulates unfair and deceptive trade practices and D-Link Corporation and D-Link Systems ran afoul of both through its routers, IP cameras, baby monitors and other products designed to integrate consumers’ home networks. D-Link’s promotional materials assured buyers that their routers “support[] the latest wireless security features to help prevent unauthorized access,…
The Federal Trade Commission has released a short guide for businesses on steps to take once a breach has occurred. The guide is below. For advice on implementing a plan to protect consumers’ personal information, to prevent breaches and unauthorized access, check out the FTC’s Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business and Start with Security:…
The Federal Trade Commission has offered the following three videos to help consumers be #CyberAware as part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
Since 2002, the FTC has brought over 50 data security enforcement actions under Section 5 of the FTC Act. Most companies quickly enter consent decrees with only two companies making the choice to fight the FTC. The first was Wyndham Worldwide Corporation which challenged the FTC’s authority over data security only to have the Third Circuit…
Let it not be said that Utah-based 1-800 Contacts is not persistent. Once it began losing sales to lower-priced online competitors, the nation’s largest online seller of contact lenses has engaged in a protracted battle against competitive search advertisements to avoid having to compete on the basis of price. In 2004, 1-800 Contacts was behind…
Cyber Report 