FTC Announces Health Products Compliance Guidance
On December 20, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission published new guidance regarding claims about the benefits and safety of health-related products: Health Products Compliance Guidance. This guidance replaces the Commission's previous guidance, Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry, issued in 1998. The new guidance expands the scope to include other health-related products, such as foods, over-the-counter drugs, and devices.
Ready, Aim, Fire: FTC Scores Record-Breaking $520 Million Settlement with Fortnite Creator Epic Games
The Federal Trade Commission recently unveiled hefty settlements with Epic Games Inc.—the creator of the video game Fortnite—to resolve separate actions alleging violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, respectively.
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Possible Green Guides Revisions
At its December 14, 2022 open meeting, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on potential updates or revisions to its existing Green Guides. The Green Guides are the agency's guidance document intended to "help marketers avoid making environmental marketing claims that are unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act." Earlier, the FTC had indicated that the guides would be revised this year, but that has apparently slipped to next year.
Spoliation and Failure to Disclose: What Gets Swept Under the Rug in FTC Investigations Lands in a Dangerous Pit
Once a company or individual learns they are a target of a Federal Trade Commission investigation, they need to quickly make a series of decisions, then take action.
What the FTC’s Aggressive New Policy Statement on Unfair Methods of Competition Means for Advertisers
The Federal Trade Commission released an aggressive new Policy Statement outlining the current FTC's view on what constitutes "unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce" under Section 5 of the FTC Act. Section 5 of the FTC Act covers conduct that violates other federal antitrust laws but also other methods of unfair competition. How broadly that "penumbra" of Section 5 should be interpreted has been the subject of debate for years.
FTC Sues Advertising Behemoths Google and iHeartMedia for Deceptive Endorsements by Radio Personalities
The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas settled with advertising giants Google and iHeartMedia for deceptive advertising and endorsements under Section 5 of the FTC Act.