May 26, 2022

Advertising Law News and Analysis

2 min

New Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act Is Not OK – But It Does Contain an Important Exemption

Late last week, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed the state's Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022 (OTSA) into law.

A couple of months ago, as the legislation was working its way through the Oklahoma state legislature, we noted that, like its Florida counterpart – the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) – the law would prohibit "a telephonic sales call to be made if such call involves an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers . . . without the prior express written consent of the called party." (Emphasis added.)

FTC Approves Request for Public Comment on Updates to Endorsements and Testimonials Guides

The Federal Trade Commission's May 2022 open meeting, Alvaro Bedoya's first since being sworn in as the agency's fifth commissioner on May 16, considered a request for public comment on proposed amendments to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. After a staff presentation on commissioners' proposed updates and statements, the agency unanimously approved the request for public comment.

FTC Approves Administrative Settlement with Payment Processor, Electronic Payment Systems

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently moved to dismiss its long-running enforcement action against Electronic Payment Solutions (EPS) pending in the District of Arizona after the Commission voted 4-0 to approve a final settlement with EPS and certain of its owners. The case against EPS, a third-party payment processor, is just the most recent example of the FTC’s heightened focus on holding financial intermediaries responsible for failing to police the actions of their merchant customers.

Intuit Will Pay $141 Million in State Attorneys General Settlement Over Deceptive TurboTax Advertising

"Free" must mean free?

Earlier this month, the attorneys general for all 50 states and the District of Columbia announced a settlement with Intuit, Inc., the owner of TurboTax, which will require the company to hand over $141 million to consumers as restitution for allegedly tricking consumers into paying for tax-filing services when they qualified for free tax-filing services.