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Last week, the FTC sent high profile warning letters to two trade associations, the American Beverage Association (AmeriBev) and the Canadian Sugar Institute, and 12 registered dieticians regarding inadequate disclosures in the dieticians’ social media posts. While the specific influencer posts varied across dietician, they all related to the safety of aspartame, an artificial sweetener, and other messaging regarding the benefits of consuming sugar-containing products.
Continue Reading FTC Warns Influencers and Trade Associations to Be Much More Specific About Ties

As we reported Friday, the FTC has proposed a rule to ban misleading and hidden fees. While that initiative is pending, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed similar legislation, SB 478, into law. Effective July 1, 2024, the California statute prohibits advertising, displaying, or offering a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes or fees imposed by a government on the transaction, or postage or carriage charges that will be reasonably and actually incurred to ship the physical good to the consumer.
Continue Reading California Passes Legislation Banning Junk Fees

The FTC announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) targeting misleading and hidden fees, commonly known as “junk fees,” and how businesses may advertise and market prices to consumers. The NPRM was drafted based on over 2,000 public comments to the FTC’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in November 2022.
Continue Reading FTC Proposes Rule Banning “Junk Fees”

BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has released new Guardrails for Child-Directed Advertising and Privacy in the Metaverse. As explained in a BBB press release, the Guardrails are intended to provide companies with best practices as they navigate the complexities of engaging with children in metaverse experiences.
Continue Reading CARU Releases Guidelines for Advertising to Children in the Metaverse

The FTC announced an enforcement action against online shoe seller Hey Dude, Inc. (a subsidiary of Crocs, Inc.) alleging Hey Dude suppressed more than 80% of consumer reviews that provided less than four out of five stars. The complaint also alleges multiple violations of the FTC’s Mail Order Rule between 2020 and 2022. A proposed consent order would require Hey Dude to pay nearly $2 million and take certain steps to prevent future violations.
Continue Reading Hey Dude: Review Suppression is Illegal and You’re Obligated to Ship Goods on Time

As reported on Hunton’s Privacy and Information Security Law Blog, on May 31, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed order against home security camera company Ring LLC for unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Continue Reading FTC Issues Proposed Order Against Home Security Camera Company Ring

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit brought by a consumer who claimed that The Kroger Company supermarkets falsely advertised its spreadable fruit product containing fruit-based sweeteners as “Just Fruit.” …
Continue Reading What is “Just Fruit”?:  Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of False Advertising Suit Against Kroger