March 5, 2013 5:21 PM | Posted by Michael Mallow, Michael Thurman & Christine Reilly |
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Commissioner Edith Ramirez began her term as chair of the Federal Trade Commission March 4, 2013, filling the vacancy left by outgoing chair Jon Leibowitz. As a current commissioner, Ramirez assumed the agency’s head position without Senate approval of her selection by President Obama.
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August 28, 2012 8:48 AM | Posted by Regan Smith |
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The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) recently updated its Social Media Marketing Disclosure Guide, the organization’s self-regulatory guide to best practices and responsibilities of using social media. According to WOMMA, the Guide is a “living document” periodically updated to reflect developments in both the industry and social media. The best practices apply to a variety of social media platforms, including blogs and microblogs, online comments, social networks, video and photo sharing websites, sponsored content, podcasts. A copy of the Guide is available here.
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August 2, 2012 3:46 PM | Posted by Tom Jirgal and Ken Florin |
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Nutrisystem, Inc., provider of weight loss programs and services, agreed to add disclosures to weight-loss success stories “pinned” to the company’s Pinterest board entitled “Real Consumers. Real Success,” after the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, found that the four stories were testimonials requiring disclaimers under the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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July 31, 2012 3:37 PM | Posted by Michael Mallow, Michael Thurman and Ieuan Jolly |
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Companies that experienced data security breaches may have to contend with more than just unhappy consumers and reputational injury. Both the Federal Trade Commission and private plaintiffs' class action lawyers have filed actions against companies after data breaches, claiming that the companies misrepresented the adequacy of their security measures and are liable for violating the terms of their own privacy policies.
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May 21, 2012 11:48 AM | Posted by Jill Westmoreland |
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In the final video segment of Loeb & Loeb’s second Media MindShare Leadership Series, Sheryl Yamuder discusses issues surrounding the use of behavioral advertising, including challenges to self-regulation, the outlook for legislation, and key steps in the self-regulatory process that have been put into place at her organization.
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February 24, 2012 9:22 AM | Posted by Jill Westmoreland |
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December 29, 2011 9:22 AM | Posted by Daniel Frohling |
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has joined a chorus of lawmakers and industry groups who have expressed opposition to ICANN's January 12, 2012, roll-out of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). In a 15-page letter, sent Dec. 16, the FTC warned that rapid expansion of the number of generic top-level domain names - the part of the domain name to the right of the dot, such as ".com," ".net" and ".org" - could create a "dramatically increased opportunity for consumer fraud," and make it easier for scam artists to manipulate the system to avoid being detected by law enforcement authorities.
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December 6, 2011 5:00 PM | Posted by Michael Ridgway Jones |
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On November 8, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with ScanScout, an online video ad network, that had been charged by the FTC with engaging in deceptive practices regarding ScanScout’s use of a type of tracking device called a “Flash” cookie. (A Flash cookie is a cookie that websites using Adobe’s Flash multimedia technology may store on a user’s computer.) According to the FTC complaint, ScanScout’s privacy policy instructed users that they could opt out of receiving targeted ads by modifying their browser settings to “prevent the receipt of cookies.” The FTC found this claim to be deceptive, because ScanScout in fact used Flash cookies, which are stored in a different place from ordinary cookies and cannot be removed merely by changing browser settings.
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August 8, 2011 10:02 AM | Posted by James Taylor, Ken Florin and Ieuan Jolly |
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Bills limiting the use of geolocation information collected from mobile and other devices were introduced in both chambers of Congress in June. The Location Privacy Protection Act of 2011 (S. 1223) and the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Act (H.R. 2168, S. 1212) both would limit the collection and use of data by mobile device manufacturers and others. In addition, The GPS Act would also prevent law enforcement from obtaining this data without a warrant.
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July 13, 2011 4:06 PM | Posted by Loeb & Loeb LLP |
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On June 29, 2011, Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied Google’s motion to dismiss the complaints alleging that Google intentionally designed its Street View data collection system to capture not only panoramic images of streets, but individuals' data (including usernames, passwords and personal emails) sent across Wi-Fi networks. The complaints allege violations of the federal Wiretap Act, state wiretap statutes, and the California law.
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June 30, 2011 1:33 PM | Posted by Loeb & Loeb LLP |
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Loeb & Loeb's Advanced Media and Technology Group is proud to present the Mobile Messaging installment in our Media MindShare Thought Leadership Series, a collection of video interviews with Loeb & Loeb clients and attorneys discussing social media, mobile marketing, privacy, behavioral advertising and other issues of interest to Fortune 500 advertisers and advertising agencies.
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May 27, 2011 3:03 PM | Posted by Walter Steimel, Jr. |
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The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be updating its guidance on how federal advertising law applies to online advertising. In its May 26, 2011, statement, the FTC advised it is seeking public comment on how “Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising” should be modified to reflect the dramatic changes to the online landscape that have occurred in the 11 years since the agency first issued the guidance. Mobile marketing, social media and “the ‘App’ economy” are all considerations that the FTC is seeking to address in this revision.
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May 12, 2011 11:30 AM | Posted by Ieuan Jolly |
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March 1, 2011 2:19 PM | Posted by Ieuan Jolly |
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When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its privacy report in December 2010, it discussed the possibility of providing consumers, in a uniform and comprehensive way, the choice of whether to allow the collection and use of data regarding their online searching and browsing activities. However, the Commission admitted that it lacked the authority to establish such a requirement without Congressional authorization. A bill introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) would provide the necessary authorization.
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February 18, 2011 3:17 PM | Posted by Loeb & Loeb LLP |
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Loeb & Loeb's Advanced Media and Technology Group is proud to present our Media MindShare Thought Leadership Series, a collection of video interviews with Loeb & Loeb clients and attorneys discussing social media, mobile marketing, privacy, behavioral advertising and other issues of interest to Fortune 500 advertisers and advertising agencies.
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October 29, 2010 9:47 AM | Posted by Nathan Hole |
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In comments late last week, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill commended the self-regulatory efforts of industry groups regarding online behavioral (or “interest-based”) advertising, but strongly reinforced the need for ongoing monitoring to ensure the self-regulatory regime adequately protects consumers. Commissioner Brill’s comments come in the wake of increasing media coverage of and legislative attention to behavioral advertising (two bills are pending before Congress), and on the heels of the recently announced second phase of industry self-regulation by the newly formed Digital Advertising Alliance (the “DAA,” consisting of the 4As, the AAF, ANA, DMA, and IAB).
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August 4, 2010 10:35 AM | Posted by Seth Rose |
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In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, Jessica Rich, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that the FTC is closely monitoring social networking sites and the mobile arena as part of its efforts to protect teens in the digital environment. Rich stated that teens tend to be more impulsive than adults and may not always think about the consequences of sharing information online and, as a result, may divulge more information online than they should.
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July 8, 2010 6:09 PM | Posted by Tamara Carmichael |
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As we mentioned in June, the FTC is currently reviewing its Rule relating to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to determine if it adequately protects children given the rapid changes in technology and the way children use and access the Internet, for example, through use of mobile phones, Twitter, interactive games and other new media. The Commission announced that due to a technical glitch it is extending the deadline for submission of comments to July 12.
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June 21, 2010 1:45 PM | Posted by Tom Jirgal |
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The FTC announced that Kellogg agreed to expand an existing settlement agreement to resolve an FTC investigation into questionable immunity-related claims for Rice Krispies cereal. This is the second time in the last year that the FTC has taken action against the company. According to the FTC, Kellogg's product packaging claimed that Rice Krispies cereal “now helps support your child’s immunity,” with “25 percent Daily Value of Antioxidants and Nutrients – Vitamins A, B, C, and E.”
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June 11, 2010 2:57 PM | Posted by Jill Westmoreland |
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