Posts Tagged ‘ftc’
Anticipating Future Merger Crackdowns Based on the Tapestry Decision
By Natalia Baigorri This past year, the Biden Administration has pushed back against big business through FTC and DOJ action, including new merger guidelines and multiple lawsuits. This is a change from past FTC action of allowing mergers to proceed with structural remedies. Now, the FTC is prioritizing blocking potentially harmful mergers.[1] Recently, the FTC…
Read MoreAI Lawyers – How Deceptive AI Claims And Schemes Are Changing Business Marketing
By Frances Ricks Artificial intelligence (“AI”) took its first major evolutionary step in 2023 with the release of ChatGPT.[1] Since then, businesses have been experimenting with different kinds of AI to test its capabilities and limitations.[2] In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its plan to crack down on deceptive AI claims and…
Read MoreThe FTC’s “Click to Cancel” Rule Might Not Be As Easy As It Seems
By Andrea Funez On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its final “Click to Cancel” rule, requiring sellers to make it easier for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.[1] The FTC’s implementation of this rule amends and modernizes its 1973 Negative Option Rule to “combat unfair and deceptive practices related to subscriptions, memberships,…
Read MoreHow Brita’s Alleged Patent Ambush Can Wash Away Competition in the Water Filter Field
By: Gustav Gulmert According to the Environmental Working Group, over fifty percent of Americans consider their tap water as unsafe.[1]Instead, people turn to water pitcher filters for their drinking water at home, the gym, and work.[2] Zero Technologies, LLC (“Zero”) and Brita sell high-performance gravity-fed water pitcher filters approved by the NSF Foundation, a standards-setting…
Read MoreThe FTC’s Plan to Throw Away “Junk Fees” in New Proposed Rule
By: Kevin Quintanilla A big win may come soon to consumers due to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) new proposed rule to ban junk fees.[1] Junk fees refer to hidden costs or extra charges that a consumer must pay, oftentimes substantially increasing the total price of a product or service.[2] These fees are frequently not…
Read MorePrime Target: FTC Takes Aim at Amazon in Antitrust Claims
By: Caitlyn Lindstrom On September 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission. (“FTC”), along with seventeen states, filed suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), claiming Amazon’s business practices violate Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)[1] and Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15, U.S.C. § 2[2], in addition to state competition and consumer…
Read MoreLegal Issues in the Age of the Influencer
By: Holly Santapaga Users of the popular social media app Instagram are likely familiar with the term “influencer.” Though it is difficult to define the term “influencer,” these individuals generally have a large social media following, and the ability to influence their following through “sales, attitudes, opinions, [or] time spent.”[1] Advertisers quickly caught on to…
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