[{"pubDate":"Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:55:58 +0100","url":"https://www.callacbd.ca/CALL-Blog/13659540","titre":"President's Message / Message de la présidente","id":3241551,"description":"Le texte français suit. Dear CALLeagues, I hope this finds you well and enjoying the first stretch of summer. Our formal post-conference survey has now been released, and I encourage every member to take a few minutes to complete it. If you joined us in Moncton, please tell us what worked, what did not, and what you would like to see from future CALL/ACBD conferences. If you were not able to attend, we want to hear from you as well. This survey is about more than feedback on one event. It will help us understand who is coming to our conferences, why they attend, what they value, and what barriers may be keeping others away. We also want to know what might make attendance easier or more compelling in future years. Your answers will help us improve next year’s conference in Saskatoon and plan more thoughtfully for the years ahead. On that note, I am very excited to share some big news: CALL/ACBD will be heading to Toronto in 2028 to celebrate the Association’s 65th anniversary! Sixty-five years is a remarkable milestone, representing decades of leadership, collegiality, advocacy, scholarship, and service by law librarians and legal information professionals across Canada. To encourage survey participation, we will be holding two draws for respondents. You may choose to enter one draw or both. The first draw is for a one-night stay in a Delta room at the Delta Beauséjour in Moncton. The second draw is for $100 off registration for the 2027 CALL/ACBD conference in Saskatoon. Please complete the survey and help shape what comes next for CALL/ACBD. Wishing you all a relaxing and restorative summer, filled with wonderful moments. Katarina Daniels Chères et chers collègues, J’espère que ce message vous trouve en pleine forme et que vous profitez bien du début de l’été. Notre sondage officiel post-conférence est maintenant disponible, et je vous encourage vivement à prendre quelques minutes pour le remplir. Si vous étiez avec nous à Moncton, dites-nous ce qui a bien fonctionné, ce qui pourrait être amélioré et ce que vous aimeriez voir lors des prochaines conférences de l’ACBD/CALL. Si vous n’avez pas pu y assister, nous souhaitons également connaître votre opinion. Ce sondage va bien au-delà d’un simple retour sur un événement. Il nous aidera à mieux comprendre qui participe à nos conférences, pourquoi ces personnes y assistent, ce qu’elles apprécient et quels obstacles pourraient empêcher d’autres personnes de se joindre à nous. Nous voulons également savoir ce qui pourrait faciliter ou rendre plus attrayante votre participation dans les années à venir. Vos réponses nous aideront à améliorer la conférence de l’année prochaine à Saskatoon et à planifier de manière plus réfléchie pour les années futures. Sur ce sujet, j’ai le grand plaisir de vous annoncer une excellente nouvelle : c’est un rendez-vous à Toronto en 2028 pour célébrer le 65e anniversaire de l’ACBD/CALL! Soixante-cinq ans, c’est une étape remarquable qui témoigne de décennies de leadership, de collégialité, de défense des intérêts, de recherche et de service de la part des bibliothécaires juridiques et des professionnels de l’information juridique à travers le Canada. Pour encourager votre participation dans le sondage, nous organiserons deux tirages pour les répondant.e.s. Vous pourrez choisir de participer à l’un des tirages ou aux deux. Le premier tirage offre une nuitée dans une chambre Delta à l’hôtel Delta Beauséjour de Moncton. Le second tirage offre un rabais de 100 $ sur l’inscription à la conférence de l’ACBD/CALL","source":"Canadian Association of Law Libraries / L'Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit CALL/ACBD Blog"},{"source":"Canadian Association of Law Libraries / L'Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit CALL/ACBD Blog","description":"CALL member Marcelo Rodriguez, the Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian at the University of Arizona Law School in Tucson, Arizona, recently wrote an article on \" Researching Foreign and International Current Events \". It originally appeared on Slaw.ca on August 16, 2022. It is republished here with permission of the author. In my professional experience working as a law librarian in multiple types of institutions, most of the time a question about or related to a situation happening in a foreign country or at the international level comes primarily through one scenario: the researcher read about it in an online media outlet, newspaper, article, blog, tweet, etc. and wants to know more. Understanding, finding relevant sources and making sense of a rapidly (d)evolving and fast moving situation in a foreign country or internationally is an incredibly complicated and labor intensive type of research, no matter how much experience you have in the subject or country. To hopefully alleviate some of the pressure on these requests from researchers, I created a monthly series, called   Through the FCIL Lens , shared in the blog of the Foreign, Comparative and International Law (FCIL) group within the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). In this monthly series, I strive to give readers a summary with all the known and relevant information on what’s currently happening, some analysis from experts, and most importantly for the researchers, I also include at least three academic articles which help connect the situation on the ground to larger conversations and trends. I’d like to think that my purpose and hard work behind the series were confirmed a few weeks ago when the dramatic current events in Sri Lanka made international headlines in major newspapers, magazines and social media. Given my obsession and unhealthy consumption of foreign and international news,   I featured the increasingly deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka as one of the “hotspots” to observe   back in April 2022. I’m not claiming any sort of superpower, nor advocating for others to compulsively follow international news. The point is that when you are tasked with researching and finding authoritative sources in order to understand an explosive current situation in a foreign country, 97% of the time, it is not a situation coming out of nowhere. Your job is to find the relevant resources to help you link the current situation on the ground to previously documented situations, people and trends. In this post, I will mention a few crucial steps that I take in order to come up with a successful research strategy. Similarly to what I do in my legal research classes, I’m not going to enumerate a list of websites and hope the researcher finds their way. If you do that, a lot of the time, they’re left with websites which are not updated, don’t work or with a list of broken links taking you nowhere. Therefore, I will talk briefly about the initial steps I take when building a research strategy that has worked for me and also the limitations to this type of research requests that we should all be aware of. First, your main goal should be to look for specific names of people, institutions, places, perhaps a specific case or legislation. You’re aiming to find one proper name (many, if you’re lucky!) and use it as your keyword to search for sources which will help you link the current situation to previous trends, events or any relevant information. In the case of the current crisis in Sri Lanka, one of the main characters is the recently deposed president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. If you search for his name in both free sources and subscription-based databases, you will quickly find out lots of important information. For example, he belongs to a “political dynasty” which has taken control of the country for decades and also he was hailed as a “war hero” after his leading involvement in ending the country’s civil war in 2009. These two","id":3241471,"titre":"CALL Member Article: Researching Foreign and International Current Events","url":"https://www.callacbd.ca/CALL-Blog/12894125","pubDate":"Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:55:49 +0100"},{"pubDate":"Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:55:45 +0100","url":"https://www.callacbd.ca/CALL-Blog/10557789","titre":"Five Questions with Alexandra Farolan","id":3241442,"description":"Alexandra Farolan, Library Assistant | Courthouse Libraries BC  1.       Tell us a little about your educational background and how you entered the legal information industry.   I am currently a Library Information and Technology Diploma student at Langara College. Prior to this, I worked on two certificate programs through the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Office Administrator with Technology and Medical Office Assisting). I worked as a registration and health records clerk for a few years in the hospitals. Managing patient records introduced me to the processes of information preservation and confidentiality which in turn piqued my interest in legislation pertaining to freedom of information. I've also had some personal experiences which have lead to my overall interest in examining opportunities in the legal industry. I generally find knowing more about my rights is empowering and being surrounded professionally in an industry that serves those who advocate and rally for rights is something I am excited to contribute to. 2.       How has being involved in CALL helped you professionally (e.g. scholarships & grants, continuing education, networking)? I joined CALL in January 2020 so I am definitely still green, but I've found the professional development opportunities and connecting with other members to be incredibly supportive and educational. There are many opportunities here in the association to be a part of and to contribute to. I have really enjoyed being paired up as a mentee in the mentorship program as it has provided me in gaining more insight and perspective on the industry and provides opportunity for professional rapport. Being the Members and Projects Profiles Coordinator has been more challenging than I anticipated and meeting deadlines might be something to work on...In saying that, it has been great to learn and connect a bit more with our members where I otherwise may not have!   3.       What was your first library-related job? Not a job, but I was part of a volunteer program in 2004 to 2005 called Katimavik where people ages 18 to 23 would live with each other and volunteer in the community across three provinces. I had two library volunteer rotations: Bibliothèque Publique De Tracadie-Sheila in Tracadie-Shelia, New Brunswick and the Jasper Municipal Library in Jasper, Alberta. I enjoyed putting the books back on the shelves and seeing what people were reading. I also learned some basic library protocols such as processing materials to send to other branches, checking materials out to clients, and minor repairs. I also worked with a great team at Indigo Books in morning operations from 2018 to 2020. I've been in my role as a library assistant with CLBC for a little over a year which has provided much learning experience in processing and cataloging legal materials and professional development examining important topics including but not limited to, systemic racism, understanding trauma, Indigenous human rights, etc.           4.    What’s one blog, website, or Twitter account that you can’t go one day without checking?     As an information junkie, it is difficult to pick one. Here are a few links currently on rotation :  rightsofchildren.ca https://vimeo.com/courthouselibrary https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge  - \"For 21 days, do one action to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity\"  and  Ruby Ibarra  - She is a Filipina-American rapper that started a scholarship called  Pinays Rising  which was created to support fellow Filipina-Americans who demonstrate excellence in arts and/or social activism in pursuing higher education. 5.       What are three things on","source":"Canadian Association of Law Libraries / L'Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit CALL/ACBD Blog"},{"source":"Canadian Association of Law Libraries / L'Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit CALL/ACBD Blog","id":3241434,"description":"We all have a few tricks up our sleeve when it comes to performing legal research. We sometimes share them with clients. And sometimes, we like to use those tricks to hunt down seemingly impossible to find material and wow them. Because nothing is “impossible” for law librarians. The CALL blog has started a new regular series of research tips and tricks. Please share your favourite or coolest strategies with  Michel-Adrien Sheppard to have them published on the CALL blog. Nous avons tous nos trucs favoris quand il s'agit de faire de la recherche juridique. Parfois, nous les partageons avec nos clients. Et parfois, nous aimons les épater en utilisant ces trucs et astuces pour mettre la main sur des informations apparemment impossibles à trouver. Car rien n’est « impossible » pour des bibliothécaires de droit. Le blogue de l'ACBD a lancé une nouvelle série sur les trucs et astuces de recherche. SVP partagez vos stratégies les plus intéressantes ou les plus « cool » avec  Michel-Adrien Sheppard afin de les faire publier sur le blogue de CALL/ACBD. Today:  Secret Search tips from an Information Sleuth   by George Roy, Law Society of Manitoba (originally published February 1, 2021 on the Great LEXpectations blog): Sometimes an article can be very tricky to track down. It might be from an obscure journal, or maybe from something old enough that no one carries it any more. That may require tracking down a print version hidden away in some library’s archives, but sometimes some creative searching online can provide surprising results. Limit where you look Sometimes too much is just as bad as not enough. If you find yourself searching for an article title on a web search engine you may get hundreds or thousands of results. Most of us will scan the first page, and maybe the second, but are quick to give up after that. A lot of the time, articles will be published as a PDF, so limit your search to that file format by either using the advanced search function  Or use the limiter “filetype” in the search field. Change where you are looking Most articles are often published as part of a journal. That means you might limit your search to libraries or sites that have access to that publication. If you separate the article from the journal, you can look in unusual places that have already uploaded or published that article separate from its original publication. When you browse the search results, try looking at academic websites. Again, you can use the advanced search, or use the limiter “site:” and limit to academic domains such as “.edu.” Sometimes universities publish their  syllabi","pubDate":"Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:55:44 +0100","url":"https://www.callacbd.ca/CALL-Blog/10149027","titre":"CALL Research Tips & Tricks: Articles that are tricky to track down / Trucs et astuces de recherche de l’ACBD: articles difficiles à trouver"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:06:59 +0200","titre":"FTC sues American Immigration Center for claiming false government affiliation","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2018/10/ftc-sues-american-immigration-center-claiming-false-government-affiliation","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","id":3203252,"description":"FTC sues American Immigration Center for claiming false government affiliation lfair October 16, 2018 | 12:16PM FTC sues American Immigration Center for claiming false government affiliation By Lesley Fair When the FTC warns consumers about government imposter scams, we’re usually referring to bogus calls that falsely claim to come from the IRS or some other official office. But as a case just announced by the FTC demonstrates, that’s not the only kind of false government affiliation that can deceive consumers. A $2.2 million settlement with American Immigration Center reminds other businesses of the dangers of conveying a misleading connection to a government agency. When consumers wanted to renew their green cards or apply for naturalization, where did they go? Online, of course, where they input terms like “USCIS,” “INS,” or “US Immigration” to search for the proper government site. According to the FTC, that’s how they ran across results with tag lines like “USCIS Forms – Easy Online Forms for Green Card & Citizenship.” A click took them to sites with the outward appearance of official government webpages. First, there were the URLs – usimmigration.us, uscitizenship.info, etc. Then there was the red, white, and blue color scheme, the Statue of Liberty, passports, and pictures of then-President Obama. What’s more, people looking for, say, Green Card Renewal Form I-90, saw links with the exact name of the relevant document. According to the FTC, people paid between $120 to $300 and input a substantial amount of personal information, all under the impression they were filing documents directly with a government agency. Except that they weren’t. Despite the appearance of those pages, consumers were actually on one of many commercial sites the defendants used to sell their “software wizard” to fill out government immigration forms. And the money consumers paid didn’t go toward government filing fees. It went straight into the defendants’ pockets. In addition to the $2.2 million judgment, the defendants have agreed to clearly disclose that: 1) their sites aren’t affiliated with the government; 2) people must separately file immigration applications with the appropriate government agency; and 3) people must separately pay applicable filing fees to the government. The proposed order also bars the defendants – principal Cesare Alessandrini and Forms Direct, Inc., doing business as American Immigration Center – from stating or implying any affiliation with the government. What’s the message for other companies? Avoid an affiliation conflation. Look at your ads and websites from the point of view of your target audience. Could prospective customers be left with the misimpression that your company has an affiliation with a government agency? Steer clear of any purported connection to a local, state, or federal government office. Consider the big picture. The complaint in this case cited the words the defendants used to convey claims to consumers, as well as what their websites looked like. That’s because, according to the FTC Deception Policy Statement , “The Commission will evaluate the entire advertisement, transaction, or course of dealing in determining how reasonable consumers are likely to respond.” That specifically includes visual imagery and the omission of material information. Wise companies bear in mind the FTC’s long-established “net impression” standard and exercise caution in drafting their copy, selecting graphics, and choosing what they say – and what they don’t say – to consumers."},{"url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/04/joint-letters-take-new-steps-stop-illegal-coronavirus-robocalls","titre":"Joint letters take new steps to stop illegal Coronavirus robocalls","pubDate":"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:06:58 +0200","description":"Joint letters take new steps to stop illegal Coronavirus robocalls lfair April 3, 2020 | 1:57PM Joint letters take new steps to stop illegal Coronavirus robocalls By Lesley Fair Consumers hate illegal robocalls. And as the thousands of reports pouring into the FTC indicate, they also hate robocalls that exploit concerns about Coronavirus. In recent months, the FTC has taken innovative steps to take on not only illegal robocallers, but also companies that “assist and facilitate” their conduct. Just last week, FTC staff sent warning letters to nine businesses that provide Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services or other assistance to some of the entities that may be behind the onslaught of bogus COVID-19 calls. Additional letters just went out that reflect unprecedented actions in the fight against fraud. Warning letters were sent to three VoIP providers: SIPJoin, Connexum, and VoIP Terminator d/b/a BLMarketing. According to the letters, investigations have revealed that these companies transmitted calls offering fraudulent COVID-19 home testing kits or claiming that HVAC cleaning services will help fight the virus. But two things are different from last week’s warning letters. First, these letters were signed by the FTC and the FCC. The other interesting development comes in the form of a new strategy aimed at muting the dissonant ring of illegal robocalls. As the letters make clear, the three companies that received the warnings have 48 hours to stop routing or transmitting harmful robocall traffic from their clients making those claims or they will face an unprecedented “or else.” If the three companies don’t comply, the FCC will authorize all other U.S. voice providers to block all calls from them and take all steps that may be needed to prevent further transmission of unlawful calls from those companies. The agencies added that they will evaluate whether further action is warranted against the recipients of the letters. An interesting aspect of that “or else” message relates to another letter sent by the two agencies – this one to telecommunications trade association USTelecom. The letter opens with a note of thanks to USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group for promptly identifying fraudulent COVID-19 robocalls and lists companies and providers that appear to be responsible for illegal calls – businesses the Industry Traceback Group helped to name. The letter also lets USTelecom know that if the three companies don’t comply, the FCC will authorize U.S. providers to block all calls from those companies and to take steps to prevent further transmission of unlawful calls from them. The letter added, “[W]e encourage and expect providers to take an active role in managing their networks and client relationships to protect consumers from harmful, illegal robocalls and spoofed calls,” and again acknowledged the work of Industry Traceback Group, describing it as “essential to combating the deluge of unlawful robocalls and protecting consumers.” Joint action by the FTC and FCC demonstrates just how seriously the agencies take the scourge of Coronavirus robocalls, but the letters also show that other companies have a critical role to play in the ongoing fight. No self-respecting member of the voice service industry – or any other business – should want anything to do with scammers out to exploit Americans during a time of national crisis.","id":3203246,"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:06:58 +0200","titre":"FTC consumer protection year in review offers 2020 vision for your business","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/01/ftc-consumer-protection-year-review-offers-2020-vision-your-business","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","id":3203247,"description":"FTC consumer protection year in review offers 2020 vision for your business lfair January 8, 2020 | 9:26AM FTC consumer protection year in review offers 2020 vision for your business By Lesley Fair They say hindsight is 20/20, but what about foresight? We’re not ones to prognosticate, but a look at notable FTC cases and initiatives from the past year suggests some topics likely to be top of mind in months to come. Here is a non-exhaustive list of issues in our 2019 rearview mirror and likely visible through the 2020 windshield. Consumer privacy. The FTC’s $5 billion enforcement action against Facebook made history and headlines, but the other notable part of the case is the monumental change the order mandates to Facebook’s privacy ecosystem. The Commission opinion in Cambridge Analytica reaffirms the proposition that like any other claim, a company’s privacy promises are viewed through the lens of established FTC consumer perception principles. A series of cases demonstrates the agency’s continued commitment to challenging false or misleading representations about businesses’ compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. Another important development is the FTC’s proposed settlement with Retina-X . It’s our first action against a marketer of stalking apps – software that allowed purchasers to monitor the mobile devices on which they’re installed, without users’ knowledge. COPPA. Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to ensure that when it comes to the collection of kids’ personal information online, parents are in the driver’s seat. The FTC settlement with YouTube – brought in conjunction with the New York Attorney General – alleges that the company collected kids’ personal data without parental consent, in violation of the COPPA Rule . The $170 million civil penalty broke the record for the largest remedy in an FTC COPPA case, set months before in our $5.7 million settlement with Musical.ly , now known as TikTok. If you’re a YouTube channel owner, read a special Business Blog post for tips on determining if your content is directed to children. Data security. Is your company honoring its data security promises and taking reasonable steps to safeguard the sensitive information in its possession? The FTC, CFPB, and State AG actions against Equifax illustrate how consumers are injured when companies ignore reasonably foreseeable threats. The settlement, which totals between $575 million and $700 million – also reminds businesses that heeding warnings about known risks is more prudent (and cost-effective) than the alternative. Three threads tie together the FTC’s unrelated actions against LightYear Dealer Technologies and InfoTrax Systems . They both sell management software to specific industries. They both allegedly failed to take reasonable steps to secure their networks, resulting in damaging data breaches. And they’re both covered by similar new orders the FTC has introduced in recent data security cases. If you or your clients are players in the Internet of Things, the settlement of the FTC’s litigation against connected device company D-Link sends an unmistakable message: The future of the IoT marketplace depends on secure software development. Endorsements, certifications, and influencers. Why is the FTC concerned about the accuracy of endorsements and certifications? Because they’re material to consumers. The FTC says Truly Organics’ claim that its personal care products were “certified organic” lathered up a double bubble of deception. First, its merchandise contained ingredients that weren’t organic. Second, the company falsely claimed that its products were certified by USDA’s National Organic Program. Other FTC developments focused on the use of endorsements in social media. The FTC’s action against Devumi alleges the company sold fake followers, phony subscribers, and bogus"},{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","id":3201873,"description":"A clothes look at the RN database: Q&A with FTC staff lfair October 5, 2017 | 11:18AM A clothes look at the RN database: Q&A with FTC staff By Lesley Fair It’s not much bigger than a postage stamp, but the label on many textile, wool, and fur products provides important information, including fiber content, country of origin, and a company name or Registered Identification Number (RN). The FTC administers the RN system and industry members will want to check out recent upgrades to the RN website . With RNs and labels on our mind, we asked some common RN-related questions to attorney Josh Millard, whom we’d label as one of the FTC’s go-to people on the subject. First things first. What’s an RN? JOSH:   A Registered Identification Number (RN) is a numerical designation – the prefix RN followed by a set of digits – that identifies the company responsible for marketing, distributing or otherwise handling a product covered by the Textile, Wool, and Fur Acts.  Because some labels are small and some company names are long, the law allows U.S.-based businesses to use an RN as a “shorthand” identification. We think the upgrades to the RN website will make it even easier for businesses to use. How do I get an RN for my company? JOSH:   Apply online. FTC staff will review your application and email you typically within 1-3 business days. As soon as your application has been approved, you’ll receive your RN.  How much does it cost to get an RN? JOSH:   There’s no charge. Is it mandatory that companies use an RN on labels? JOSH:   No, you don’t have to use an RN. It’s perfectly acceptable to include your company name instead, but many companies prefer to use an RN because it takes up less space. The RN system has other benefits, too. For example, it lets people identify your business easily through the RN Search screen . Consumers or other industry members can type in the number and readily find your business. Our company doesn’t reside in the United States.  Can we get an RN? JOSH:   Only U.S.-based businesses can get an RN. If your foreign company manufactures or is involved in the advertising, distribution, or sale of a product covered by the Textile, Wool, and Fur Acts, put the company name on the label instead of an RN. Alternatively, you can label the product with the RN or business name of a U.S. company directly involved with importing, distributing, or selling the product when that’s the case. Going through our records we found we have multiple RNs.  Is that a problem? JOSH:   It’s not prohibited, but we no longer issue multiple RNs to a single company and encourage companies to cancel any extra RNs to simplify recordkeeping. Our headquarters has moved since we applied for an RN.  Do we need to update our application? JOSH:   Yes. If there has been a change to your business name, address, or legal status, please update the information in your RN registration.  An RN can be cancelled if a business doesn’t keep its information up to date, so it’s wise to check. The good news is that the upgraded RN website makes that easier to do. What if we choose to use a company name on the label, rather than an RN? JOSH:   You must include the full name your company uses to do business – in other words, the name that appears on documents like purchase orders or invoices. It can’t be a trademark, trade name, brand, or designer name unless that’s also the name under which your company does business. What kind of guidance does the FTC have for industry members? JOSH:  Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts is a great place to start, and the FTC’s Clothing and Textiles page includes links to brochures, cases, workshops and other compliance resources.","pubDate":"Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:05:06 +0200","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/10/clothes-look-rn-database-qa-ftc-staff","titre":"A clothes look at the RN database: Q&A with FTC staff"},{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"Setting the debt parking brake lfair November 30, 2020 | 12:14PM Setting the debt parking brake By Lesley Fair What are the biggest risks of parking? A dinged door? A bruised bumper? For consumers victimized by the pernicious practice of debt parking, the impact on their financial health can be devastating. And if you’re a debt collector who engages in debt parking, an FTC settlement with Midwest Recovery Systems suggests you could face law enforcement action for violations of the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Just what is debt parking? It’s the practice of placing purported debts on consumers’ credit reports without first attempting to communicate with the consumer about the debt. Some call it “passive debt collection,” but there’s nothing passive about the injury it can inflict. Consumers often don’t learn about it until a mortgage company, prospective employer, or other decision maker pulls their credit report and spots what appears to be an unpaid debt. With a house, car, or job in the balance, many people feel pressured to pay up – even though they may not actually owe the money. That’s the tactic the FTC says Missouri-based Midwest Recovery Systems and owners Brandon M. Tumber, Kenny W. Conway, and Joseph H. Smith engaged in. According to the lawsuit, since at least 2015, the defendants have reported to credit reporting agencies more than $98 million in bogus or highly questionable debts for payday loans, debts subject to unresolved fraud claims, debts in bankruptcy, debts in the process of being rebilled to consumers’ medical insurance, and even debts people had already paid. The FTC alleges the defendants continued to collect those debts even in the face of billowing red flags about their validity. In fact, when consumers were able to dispute the purported debts, the defendants have regularly concluded that between 80% and 97% of them were either inaccurate or invalid. That’s not surprising, given that many of those debts originated from certain payday lenders and others whom the FTC has sued for their own illegal practices. Here’s an example cited in the complaint of how the defendants used debt parking to help line their pockets with millions in gross revenue. When applying for a mortgage, a consumer was told that an outstanding medical debt of $1,500 had lowered his credit score, which threatened to put the kibosh on buying a house. He contacted the hospital where he supposedly owed the debt, only to be told that he owed just an $80 co-pay. In spite of that, the FTC says the defendants refused to remove the debt and threatened the consumer with a lawsuit if he didn’t pony up. His complaint was one of thousands that Midwest Recovery received. For people who work in the collections field, the pleading in this case merit a careful read. In addition to alleging the defendants made false or unsubstantiated representations in violation of the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act , the complaint expressly challenges their debt parking tactics as an unfair practice under the FDCPA. The FTC says they also violated the FDCPA by failing to provide validation notices – one of the protections in the statute designed to ensure consumers have the information they need to dispute an invalid debt. Three other counts charge the defendants with violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by furnishing information to credit reporting agencies they knew or had reasonable cause to believe was inaccurate, by failing to conduct reasonable investigations of disputes, and by failing to report the results of those investigations to consumers. The settlement suggests some takeaway tips for others in the collections ecosystem. Consumers’ credit reports are a NO PARKING zone. This is the first FTC case to address debt parking – and thus the first to challenge the practice as unfair under the FDCPA – but the message couldn’t be clearer. Debt collectors that park fake or","id":3201875,"url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/11/setting-debt-parking-brake","titre":"Setting the debt parking brake","pubDate":"Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:05:06 +0200"},{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"First FTC ROSCA case challenges bogus BOGO and \"free\" claims wfg-adm109 October 21, 2014 | 12:02PM First FTC ROSCA case challenges bogus BOGO and \"free\" claims By Lesley Fair It’s called ROSCA – the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act – and it prohibits marketers from charging consumers for an online transaction unless the marketer has clearly disclosed all material terms of the deal and received the consumer’s express informed consent. Your e-commerce clients will want to know about the FTC’s first ROSCA case , filed recently in Nevada. According to the lawsuit, Health Formulas, LLC and a tangle of related California- and Nevada-based companies and individuals – consumers may know them as Simple Pure Nutrition – pitched a variety of products for weight loss, muscle building, virility, and skin care. The defendants advertised diet supplements like Pure Green Coffee Bean Plus and RKG Extreme as a shortcut to drop the pounds: “Burn fat without diet or exercise,” “Extreme weight loss!” “Shed pounds fast!” “Super concentrated double fat burning,” etc. Among the defendants’ more colorful business names: Weight Loss Dojo, Longhorn Marketing (sorry, Texas fans), Black Bull, and Unleash the Thunder. But unsubstantiated weight loss claims were just the start. The FTC says the defendants lured people in with bogus promises of a “free” trial or deceptive buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers. Then they tricked consumers into giving their credit or debit card information with the false implication that consumers had to “just pay shipping.”   Digits in hand, the defendants really went to town, allegedly signing consumers up without their authorization for a negative option program that billed their accounts over and over again, to the monthly tune of between $60 and $210. The FTC says the defendants violated ROSCA by using a negative option feature without providing clear and conspicuous disclosures, getting the consumer’s express informed consent, and offering a simple mechanism for stopping the recurring charges. The FTC’s complaint also cites the defendants’ hard-to-find and hard-to-understand fine-print “terms and conditions,” which consumers could reach only by scrolling through the equivalent of two printed pages and clicking on an obscure hyperlink. Assuming they found it – and that’s a big if – the typical “terms and conditions” document was 10 pages long. On some websites, consumers had to scroll down the payment page to see further fine-print disclosures about the cost of the products. The first sentence reiterated what consumers generally understood (“You must pay a shipping and handling fee of $4.95 for us to send you a full 30 day supply of Garcinia Cambogia Extract”) but it wasn’t until the middle of the paragraph that the defendants mentioned that the trial period lasts only 14 days, that it began when the items were shipped (not delivered), and that consumers would be charged after that. Other websites didn’t even include that information. According to the lawsuit, consumers who attempted to take the defendants up on their money-back guarantee were met with a series of undisclosed roadblocks. In addition to the ROSCA counts, the FTC says the defendants’ practices violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act by debiting consumers’ accounts on a recurring basis without their prior written authorization. What’s more, the complaint charges that the defendants continued to call people after being told to cut it out, in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s entity-specific Do Not Call provisions. The FTC says they also violated the TSR through a series of deceptive upsells. A federal judge has entered a temporary restraining order and the FTC is seeking to put a permanent stop to the defendants’ illegal practices. If your clients have ROSCA questions, the","id":3201052,"titre":"First FTC ROSCA case challenges bogus BOGO and \"free\" claims","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2014/10/first-ftc-rosca-case-challenges-bogus-bogo-free-claims","pubDate":"Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:05:50 +0200"},{"description":"Mediators are often asked by parties or their counsel to send them a copy of their “standard Agreement to Mediate” for review. But is there such a document? If by “standard” we mean some prescribed form followed by all mediators, the answer is no. Virtually every mediator has his or her own Agreement. Some are based on agreements provided in mediation training, while others are quite customized. This article has its origin in a recent mediation. One of the three lawyers attending had clearly not read the Agreement to Mediate, although it had been sent to him weeks earlier. When . . . [more] The post The “Standard” Agreement to Mediate appeared first on Slaw","id":3200948,"source":"Slaw","url":"https://www.slaw.ca/2026/10/06/the-standard-agreement-to-mediate/","titre":"The “Standard” Agreement to Mediate","pubDate":"Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:57:09 +0200"},{"pubDate":"Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:06:39 +0200","titre":"We can’t go for that (no can do)","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/07/we-cant-go-no-can-do","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","id":3200011,"description":"We can’t go for that (no can do) lfair July 17, 2017 | 11:38AM We can’t go for that (no can do) By Lesley Fair Of course, phantom debt collection – the practice of pressuring people to pay “debts” they don’t owe – harms consumers. But as an FTC complaint demonstrates, when phantom debt collectors strike, they could affect your company, too. According to the FTC , a Florida-based outfit engaged in a scheme to defraud consumers through the collection of debts people didn’t actually owe or the company didn’t have the authority to collect. The complaint charges that the defendants – Hardco Holding Group, S & H Financial Group, Dequan M. Sicard, and Daryl M. Hall (no, not that Daryl Hall) – violated the FTC Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. When contacting consumers, in many instances the defendants allegedly impersonated attorneys and threatened to have people thrown in jail if they didn’t pay up on delinquent payday loans – loans, remember, that many consumers didn’t take out in the first place and defendants didn’t have the right to collect. One tactic involved contacting people with a “case number” and directing them to dial a callback number. On the second call, the defendants allegedly said they were affiliated with named law firms and that the consumer had committed a felony, could go to prison, or faced arrest. According to the complaint , to boost the credibility of their threat of pending or imminent legal action, the defendants claimed to have the consumer’s Social Security number, bank account number, or contact information for family members. Afraid of legal repercussions, many consumers knuckled under to the demand for payment. The FTC says the defendants also told third parties that consumers owed money, a violation of the FDCPA. In addition, the complaint charges that the defendants didn’t disclose their identity to consumers, failed to provide proper validation notices, and used other false, misleading, and abusive tactics. Phantom debt collectors unquestionably injure consumers, but how could conduct like that affect your company? According to the lawsuit, when pressed to identify themselves, the defendants often gave the names or addresses of legitimate small businesses that had nothing to do with the purported debt or the debt collectors. When concerned consumers contacted those companies to complain, their employees got an understandably angry earful. From the FTC’s perspective, unrelated small businesses shouldn’t have their reputations sullied by others’ allegedly illegal tactics. A federal court in Orlando has temporarily halted the operation and frozen its assets. The FTC wants to stop the illegal practices once and for all. What can consumers do if they’re getting calls for debts they don’t owe ? File a complaint with the FTC. How can small businesses help protect their good names? Every now and then, do a selfie search with your company name and a word like “debt.” If you see consumer posts that suggest that a debt collector is illegally using your name – or if your employees are getting complaints about debt collection calls supposedly coming from your company – let the FTC know about it , too. In the meantime, businesses looking for FDCPA compliance resources can visit the FTC’s debt collection page for some – in the words of the other Daryl Hall (and let’s not forget John Oates) – “Adult Education.”"},{"id":3199079,"description":"Franchise Fundamentals: Taking a deep dive into the Franchise Disclosure Document lfair May 23, 2023 | 6:41PM Franchise Fundamentals: Taking a deep dive into the Franchise Disclosure Document By Lesley Fair Love at first sight may (or may not) be a real thing, but when it comes to investing your money, it’s unwise to fall for a franchise without first subjecting it to tough-minded scrutiny. The third in the FTC’s Franchise Fundamentals blog series walks through an essential part of that evaluation: an in-depth review of the Financial Disclosure Document (FDD) required by the FTC’s Franchise Rule . You must receive the Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you’re asked to sign any contract or pay any money to the franchisor or one of its affiliates. In fact, you have the right to the FDD once the franchisor has received your application and agrees to consider it. So speak up if you don’t receive it and ask questions – lots of them – as you review the FDD and any attached documents.   Image Indeed, the franchisor’s conduct regarding the FDD may raise some red flags about how they do business. Providing the FDD doesn’t establish that a franchisor is reputable – it’s required by law, after all – but if a franchisor doesn’t promptly provide this mandatory document, gives you an incomplete FDD, evades your probing questions, or tries to rush you through the process, it doesn’t speak well of their approach to legal compliance.  Assuming you have the FDD in hand, let’s consider some of the 23 required items line by line. Here are things to look for as you review the FDD. Franchisor’s Background (FDD Item 1) Item 1 provides background information about the franchisor and any parent companies, predecessors, and affiliates, including how long the franchise has been in business. It also lets you know if there are any legal requirements unique to the franchised business, like the need to get a special license or permit. This can help you understand the costs and risks you would be taking on. Business Background (FDD Item 2) Remember the old adage “People are known by the company they keep”? Well, companies are known by the people they keep, which is why Item 2 identifies directors, principal officers, and other key executives. Pay attention to their business backgrounds, their experience in managing a franchise system, and how long they’ve been with the franchisor. Litigation History (FDD Item 3) Item 3 lists information about prior litigation, including whether the franchisor or any of its executive officers have been convicted of certain crimes or have been found liable – or settled lawsuits – related to the franchise relationship. Lawsuits against the franchisor could mean it hasn’t honored its agreements or that franchisees are dissatisfied with its performance. Item 3 also says whether the franchisor has sued any of its franchisees in the past year. That information could suggest problems in the franchise system. For example, if a franchisor sued franchisees for failing to pay royalties, was it because franchisees weren’t successful and couldn’t make their royalty payments? Bankruptcy (FDD Item 4) Have the franchisor, its affiliates, or any of its executives filed for bankruptcy? Item 4 discloses that information and could give you insights into the financial condition of the business.  Initial and Other Fees (FDD Items 5-7) Items 5-7 go over some of the costs involved in starting and operating a franchise. That could include things like deposits or franchise fees (some of which may be non-refundable); what you’ll have to pay for initial inventory, signs, equipment, leases, or rentals; and ongoing costs, like royalties and advertising fees. A Consumer’s Guide to Buying a Franchise suggests more than a dozen other areas of financial inquiry, which should give you an indication about the importance of both getting in touch with your inner bean","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","pubDate":"Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:06:24 +0200","titre":"Franchise Fundamentals: Taking a deep dive into the Franchise Disclosure Document","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/05/franchise-fundamentals-taking-deep-dive-franchise-disclosure-document"},{"titre":"Planning a social media marketing campaign? Read this first.","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2018/11/planning-social-media-marketing-campaign-read-first","pubDate":"Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:06:23 +0200","description":"Planning a social media marketing campaign? Read this first. lfair November 13, 2018 | 12:24PM Planning a social media marketing campaign? Read this first. By Lesley Fair It started as one of those “run it up the flagpole” ideas to enlist big-name gymnasts to promote a brand of mosquito repellent just as news stories about the 2016 Brazil Olympics were sounding warnings about the Zika virus. Public relations firm Creaxion Corporation and specialty sports magazine publisher Inside Publications used a variety of digital strategies on behalf of the brand: athlete endorsements, social media posts, “advertorials,” and consumer reviews. But according to the FTC’s complaint , their efforts violated established FTC advertising principles. Which of those strategies are you using? And are you avoiding legal pitfalls by making appropriate disclosures? Creaxion – an Atlanta-based marketing and PR company – was approached by client HealthPro Brands to help launch its mosquito repellent. They agreed Creaxion would produce a “strategic media relations campaign” that would be “tied to the worldwide outbreak of the Zika Virus.” Creaxion then contacted Inside Publications, publisher of magazines like Inside Volleyball , Inside Cheerleading , and Inside Gymnastics , to broker a partnership with HealthPro. You’ll want to read the complaint for details about the “Social and Digital Media Activation and Athlete Engagement” agreement between HealthPro and Inside Publications, but here are some of the things HealthPro paid for: endorsements by leading gymnasts, magazine “articles” featuring the repellent, the product’s placement in “Good Luck” gift baskets from Inside Gymnastics to top U.S. gymnasts, and social media posts touting the product by Inside Publications and athlete endorsers. According to the complaint, Creaxion president Mark Pettit acted as an intermediary between Inside Publications and HealthPro. Ultimately, 2004 Olympic gold medal gymnast Carly Patterson Caldwell agreed to become a paid spokesperson. She received several thousand dollars for social media posts and an Inside Gymnastics advertorial. (She decided not to attend the Brazil Olympics because of her concerns about Zika.) Olympic gold medal gymnast Jake Dalton also signed on and was paid for promoting the repellent to his fans and followers. The two gymnasts posted endorsements of the repellent on social media without disclosing their paid promotional relationship. For example, Ms. Patterson Caldwell said on Facebook, “I was definitely bummed to have to make the decision to not go to Rio for the summer Olympics because of the threat of the Zika virus, but working on starting a family and being safe and protecting myself was way more important to my husband and me! I am so thankful to have found a safe and organic product (FIT Organic) that will ease my worries as mosquito season approaches.” Similarly, Mr. Dalton posted on Twitter, “Getting Rio Ready! Not worried about Zika. Fit Organic has my back and body covered. Love the Fit mosquito repellent.” Inside Publications also posted and reposted statements on social media about the repellent, primarily through its Inside Gymnastics account, including some featuring Patterson Caldwell and Dalton. According to the complaint, Inside Publications didn’t disclose the spokespersons’ paid promotional relationships with HealthPro or that its own posts were paid ads. Nor did it disclose that the “Caring for Carly,” “The latest on Zika” and “Move Over Mosquitos” articles were really paid ads. The FTC also says Creaxion conducted an online consumer review program that reimbursed Creaxion employees and “friends” for buying FIT repellent and reviewing the product online without disclosing their affiliation with the brand. The complaint charges that the gymnasts’ statements about the repellent were falsely represented as the","id":3199074,"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"pubDate":"Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:07:45 +0200","titre":"FTC, Florida AG to small business: Scrutinize “o-fishy-al” invoices","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2018/07/ftc-florida-ag-small-business-scrutinize-o-fishy-al-invoices","id":3198177,"description":"FTC, Florida AG to small business: Scrutinize “o-fishy-al” invoices lfair July 30, 2018 | 11:05AM FTC, Florida AG to small business: Scrutinize “o-fishy-al” invoices By Lesley Fair If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. But the same can’t be said for a mailer that looks like an official invoice. It could be an “o- fishy -al” offer that deceptively mimics the appearance of a government document. A case filed by the FTC and the Florida Attorney General challenges the practice of sending mailers that allegedly create the false impression that small businesses are required to buy labor regulation posters from the sender. Consider what defendants Starwood Consulting, also doing business as Corporate Compliance Services, and company president Thomas Henry Fred, Jr., sent to small businesses. The mailers – which include a Washington, D.C., 202 area code – are titled “LABOR LAW COMPLIANCE REQUEST FORM” and include the warning “Failure to comply with posting regulations can lead to fines up to $17,000.” The mailers include a “Business ID” and instruct recipients to respond by a certain date. Small businesses can’t miss the purported consequences of ignoring the letter: Your business is required by federal law to post a current compliant labor law poster in the workplace. Federal law requires that this poster be placed on the property of the business. Whether you have 1 employee or 1,000 you must post current employment posters in the workplace. The poster must also include information about workers compensation benefits. Pursuant to federal law 29 USC Sec. 999(i) & 29 USC Sec. 2005 penalties and risks of non-compliance with posting regulations can lead to potential fines of $17,000 per instance, for failing to post federally required information. Further, lawsuits can be tolled based on failing to display mandatory posters. . . . To obtain your Federal employment labor law poster, please detach the above coupon and return it in the enclosed envelope with your document processing fee of $84.00. The mailer continues: “IMPORTANT! FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY WHEN COMPLETING THIS FORM.” Those instructions include directions to detach the “payment coupon,” return it with the “document fee” of $84, and keep the bottom portion as the “official receipt.” The enclosed return envelope is addressed to “Corporate Compliance Services, Compliance Processing Center.” That’s a description of the mailer, but here are the facts, according to the FTC and the AG. First, the mailer isn’t from a government entity or affiliate. Starwood Consulting and its d/b/a Corporate Compliance Services are private companies in the business of selling those posters. In addition, despite the 202 area code, the defendants have no operations in Washington and posters similar to the ones the defendants peddle are available for free from the U.S. Department of Labor. What about those statutory provisions referring to “potential fines of $17,000 per instance”? In fact, neither of those citations has anything to do with labor posters. 29 U.S.C. § 999(i) refers to repealed provisions of the Young Adult Conservation Corps and 29 U.S.C. § 2005 addresses the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. According to the complaint , recipients of the mailer are often small businesses that have recently incorporated or established limited liability companies. What’s more, some businesses say they never received the posters they paid for. Others report they got second notices that they had to pay another $84 fee to get an updated poster. Despite a small “disclaimer” at the bottom of the reverse side of the mailer that “[t]his offer serves as a solicitation and not to be intended as a bill due,” the FTC and the AG say that business owners were misled and filed more than 250 complaints about the company. (According to the Better Business","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"FTC challenges Online Trading Academy’s money-making claims lfair February 12, 2020 | 4:35PM FTC challenges Online Trading Academy’s money-making claims By Lesley Fair Ads for health products often target Boomer Consumers, but those aren’t the only claims pitched to people looking toward retirement. An FTC action alleges a company called Online Trading Academy has taken in more than $370 million by gearing its deceptive representations to that demographic. In addition, the complaint alleges violations of the Consumer Review Fairness Act. According to the FTC, the California-based operation, related companies, and three individual defendants advertise a “patented strategy” that consumers can apply “to any asset class including stocks, options, futures and currencies” to rake in big money. They claim their “training programs” – with price tags as high as $50,000 – will teach consumers how to “invest like the pros on Wall Street.” ”No matter your experience and goals,” people were told the defendants’ “proven” strategy was “designed to make money in any market, whether it’s going up or down.” The complaint recounts the process the defendants use to attract consumers through TV and radio ads, online promotions, and direct mail. First comes an in-person “preview” seminar. Next, people pay $299 for a three-day “orientation.” That’s where the defendants urge attendees to sign up for seminars costing thousands more. The defendants assign each attendee an “Education Counselor” – a/k/a salesperson working on commission – who follows up by phone or email. According to the complaint, the defendants train their Education Counselors not to “look like, act like or sound like, a traditional salesperson,” but instead to take on a “role” and lead consumers through “The Pain Funnel,” Q&A designed to overcome consumer qualms. To get people to sign up for more seminars, the defendants routinely offer to finance all or part of the cost with loans at 18%, with the promise to forgive the interest if the consumer pays the total off within six months. The FTC says that in some instances, the defendants lead buyers to believe they’ll be able to repay the loan quickly with money they’ll make using that “patented strategy.” So how much does Online Trading Academy say consumers will earn? A central theme of their pitch is “You don’t have to work on Wall Street to make money like Wall Street.” Infomercials feature purchasers claiming that “in three hours I made $12,000” or “I made $32,000 in less than seven trading days.” In a YouTube video, a retiree says he made “$40,000 in a single trade.” In addition, a speaker at a live event claimed consumers “could potentially make $50,000 of annual income with an account size as low as $5,000” because Online Trading Academy has “a patent on the fact that you can time the markets,” which “gives us the ability to know when to get in and when to get out, long-term and short-term.” Other speakers – including some of the named defendants – paint a picture of lavish lifestyles filled with international travel, a “super luxury car” every year, and homes in areas where kids have “live-in nannies, cooks, gardeners.” One speaker said the money he made using Online Trading Academy’s strategy allows him to live in an enclave so exclusive that a neighbor, a renowned Olympic gold medalist, taught his daughter to swim. But the facts paint a different picture. The FTC alleges the defendants don’t systematically collect data sufficient to substantiate their earnings claims. But even the evidence they do have gave them good reason to know their representations are deceptive. For starters, according to the FTC, the defendants know that few consumers who","id":3197414,"url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/02/ftc-challenges-online-trading-academys-money-making-claims","titre":"FTC challenges Online Trading Academy’s money-making claims","pubDate":"Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:07:09 +0200"},{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth lfair September 13, 2017 | 11:15AM How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth By Lesley Fair It sounds like there was some “inventing” going on at Florida-based invention promotion firm World Patent Marketing, but a Preliminary Injunction in a case brought by the FTC suggests it wasn’t the kind that unsuspecting consumers bargained for when they forked over millions of dollars based on the defendants’ misleading promises about patenting and promoting their products. For FTC watchers, the opinion is a page-turner from start to finish. We’ll focus on just a few of the claims the company “invented.” The defendants’ initial business model involved online ads that induced people to submit their product ideas. Salespeople responded, telling interested consumers that World Patent Marketing’s “review team” was researching the proposal because “the company is so selective with the ideas they choose to work with.” After a bit of a wait, salespeople called the would-be entrepreneur back to say: We had our final meeting with the Review Team regarding your idea. And basically from all the research that’s been done on [your idea], the research tells us there’s definitely potential to patent your idea. Because of that, I have the green light from the company to let you know that WPM wants to be a part of your new product idea and help you to protect it and bring it to the commercial marketplace. So, first of all congratulations! . . . The company loved your idea! They think it has a lot of potential. Especially the Sr. Product Director, who is in charge of which ideas are considered for the upcoming trade show. He sees some good opportunities ahead. But as the U.S. District Court concluded, those salespeople were reading the pitch from a script. In fact, “there is no evidence that WPM ever had a review team or rejected a large number of ideas.” What about the company’s “Global Invention Royalty Analysis” containing a marketability study created by a “Harvard University & MIT Research Team”? Despite the defendants’ claim that the “University” had given “the green light to continue,” the Court concluded that the defendants didn’t have a relationship with Harvard, MIT, or any other college. The defendants’ malarkey induced many consumers to pay between $9,000 and $65,000 for a “10 Point Patent Protection & Publicity Commitment.” (The pricier packages promised a “global patent.”) When consumers asked for updates, the defendants strung them along. Behind the scenes, the picture was less rosy because even when the company’s contract patent agents submitted applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the PTO typically rejected them as deficient. In addition to patent services, the defendants claimed to offer product development and marketing know-how, touting that “some of the world’s most respected brands trust World Patent Marketing,” including, for example, Target. The FTC isn’t the only one to say that was balderdash. A representative for Target testified that the defendants had no relationship whatsoever with the national retailer. The Court also cited misrepresentations regarding purported “success stories,” licensing and manufacturing agreements, and an “Invention Team Advisory Board” with big-name members who didn’t actually advise the company or review invention proposals. One anecdote is particularly telling. When an undercover FTC investigator contacted the company, the salesperson claimed that the History Channel had run a “whole segment” on World Patent Marketing. The truth? The defendants paid $17,000 to air their own ad on the channel. It ran once – at 6:00 AM on January 29, 2015. Not surprisingly, consumers started to speak up when their hefty cash outlays","id":3197408,"titre":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/09/how-invention-promotion-outfit-demoted-truth","pubDate":"Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:07:08 +0200"},{"pubDate":"Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:09:38 +0200","titre":"Buckle up for a two-lane look at car buying","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/07/buckle-two-lane-look-car-buying","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","id":3194915,"description":"Buckle up for a two-lane look at car buying lfair July 30, 2020 | 1:04PM Buckle up for a two-lane look at car buying By Lesley Fair It’s one of the biggest purchases people make, but two new FTC staff reports examine some common pitfalls when consumers are in the market for a car. Buckle down and read the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Buckle Up: Navigating Auto Sales and Financing , which focuses on the challenges buyers face in getting accurate, understandable information when shopping for a vehicle. Not in the auto business? Not so fast. The deep-dive analysis of  Buckle Up  and an accompanying report by BCP staff and the Bureau of Economics – The Auto Buyer Study: Lessons From In-Depth Consumer Interviews And Related Research  – offer insights into the perception and behavior of consumers in the study that can apply to other industries. The FTC’s interest in auto-related transactions goes back decades. (Check out Volume 1 of Federal Trade Commission Decisions for a 1919 case regarding deception in the sale of auto parts.) The FTC has brought law enforcement actions challenging illegal practices, held workshops and roundtables to hear from consumer groups and industry members, and educated buyers and sellers about their rights and responsibilities. One notable feature about the two new reports is that FTC staff went straight to the source and based their views, in part, on detailed interviews with consumers about their experiences when buying and financing a vehicle. You’ll want to read Buckle Up from bumper to bumper, but one key finding is that consumers may be unaware of key terms in sales and financing contracts. One reason may be the extent to which the negotiations process focuses primarily on the monthly payment. That approach can leave consumers in the dark about other important – sometimes even more important – financial variables like the down payment, the length of financing, the total sales price, and the annual percentage rate. So let’s say the consumer has decided on a vehicle and has come to an agreement on the price. All done? Consumers may think the checkered flag is in sight, but for the dealership, negotiations have just begun. First, as the report suggests, “price” can be an elusive concept in the context of car buying. Does it mean sticker price, out-the-door price, total sales price, or something else? Furthermore, it’s often in a last-lap meeting in the financing office that dealers raise the issue of add-ons – purchases like extended warranties, service plans, credit insurance, GAP policies, window etching, etc., that can add substantially to what consumers walking into the office thought the price was. Add-ons also may have limits or conditions and may not cover what consumers expect. The staff report suggests several reasons why add-ons were the single greatest area of confusion for consumers who participated in the study. According to the report, the talk turned to add-ons only after long hours (or days or weeks) of negotiations left consumers feeling both pressured to close the deal and confused by the details. Even the very nature of the products left many consumers bewildered. Are these add-ons mandatory? Are they free? Is the cost included in what consumers perceive as the already agreed-upon price? Does the dealership’s practice of bundling – offering add-ons as a package – mean buyers can’t pick and choose the add-ons they want? What about consumers’ opportunity to review the purchase and financing paperwork? As the report notes, “[T]he length of the auto-buying process, the amount of paperwork involved, and the technical industry jargon often coalesce to make meaningful review and engagement a challenging task.” Participants in the study cited the exhausting negotiation process, a sense of feeling rushed at the end, information overload that left some of them “overwhelmed,” and the difficulty of reviewing documents on a tablet or other"},{"id":3194910,"description":"Practice Fusion case suggests 6 health privacy pointers lfair June 8, 2016 | 9:01AM Practice Fusion case suggests 6 health privacy pointers By Lesley Fair Combine two of the most talked-about consumer protection topics – health privacy and consumer-generated online content – and what do you get? A proposed FTC settlement with Practice Fusion, the largest cloud-based electronic health records company in the country, and six compliance tips for others in the industry. One of San Francisco-based Practice Fusion’s primary products is an electronic records system for outpatient providers. In 2009, the company launched “Patient Fusion,” an online portal where patients whose providers were already using Practice Fusion could view or download their health information or transmit it to another provider. Patient Fusion also let patients send and receive secure messages from their providers. Fast forward several years and the company decided to expand Patient Fusion to include a public directory where current and prospective enrollees could search for doctors geographically or by specialty, read patient reviews of providers, and request appointments. But Practice Fusion had to ask itself a question familiar to many online companies: How do we get the content – in this case, patient reviews? That’s the focus of the FTC’s lawsuit. According to the complaint , Practice Fusion solicited data in a misleading way that led some patients to believe they were sending follow-up messages directly to their doctors about their diagnosis, medical treatment, prescriptions, etc. – and not contributing content to a public website. Practice Fusion, however, populated its new site with the information those people provided, some of which was highly sensitive. Here’s what happened. After appointments with their doctors, patients received emails titled “How was your visit?” The message continued, “To help improve your service in the future, please let us know how your visit went” and included a link with rating stars. The message ended this way: Thank you, Dr. [Name] In a footer, the message said “This email was sent to you by Patient Fusion®, a tool Doctor [Name] uses to deliver the highest quality of care to patients.” Below that in smaller print it said “Sent on behalf of Doctor [Name]’s office by: Practice Fusion.” If patients clicked the link, they were taken to a page that asked for feedback about things like how long they had to wait for their appointment, the doctor’s bedside manner, and whether their medical concern was addressed. There also was a text box where patients were invited to “leave a review for your provider.” Below that was a pre-checked box with the phrase “Keep this review anonymous.” What did some people put in that box? Highly sensitive information directly addressed to their doctors, not evaluations meant to be shared publicly. Here are just a few examples: “Dr [name], My Xanax prescription that I received on Monday was for 1 tablet a day but usually it’s for 2 tablets a day. I have not taken it to the pharmacy yet. Can I pick up a new one, or can I get a prescription called into a pharmacy? Thanks, [patient’s full name] “I called today and left a message regarding my daughter and no one has returned my call. I think she is depressed and has stated several times this week that she wishes she was dead. Could someone please call me [phone number]?” “The cefuroxime axetil does not seem to be doing anything for me. I did a little research and I think I have a yeast infection called candida. Not sure what to do about it yet. I guess I will first try to change my diet. Medication? [patient’s full name] “I would like to make an appointment for my back pain and possible shingles. Can you please call me @ [phone number]? Thank you! [patient's full name]” “I HAVE NO INFECTION [healthcare provider name].  EVERYTHING WENT","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","pubDate":"Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:09:37 +0200","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2016/06/practice-fusion-case-suggests-6-health-privacy-pointers","titre":"Practice Fusion case suggests 6 health privacy pointers"},{"titre":"Is it amour – or scam-more?","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2021/02/it-amour-or-scam-more","pubDate":"Thu, 01 Oct 2026 14:10:47 +0200","description":"Is it amour – or scam-more? lfair February 11, 2021 | 12:17PM Is it amour – or scam-more? By Lesley Fair Online romance may begin with Panic! At The Disco’s High Hopes , but according to a new FTC Data Spotlight , all too often it ends with the conclusion that – to quote the J. Geils Band –  Love Stinks . Far be it from us to put a damper on Valentine’s Day, but reports to the Consumer Sentinel Network suggest that the injury inflicted by romance scams is on the rise. According to the new Data Spotlight , “For three years running, people have reported losing more money on romance scams than on any other fraud type identified in Sentinel. In 2020, reported losses to romance scams reached a record $304 million, up about 50% from 2019. For an individual, that meant a median dollar loss of $2,500.” Why the increase? The continued popularity of dating apps is part of the story, but the pandemic has played a part, too. For right now, the need for social distancing and masking makes the “meet cute” at the local coffee shop less likely. Of course, we’ve all heard heart-warming stories of romances that started on screen and blossomed IRL, but the Data Spotlight suggests that at least some of those digital dalliances may be hiding something more sinister. What does that have to do with you? We thought you’d never ask. Chances are that someone you know – a friend or family member perhaps – has a long-distance love they have yet to meet. A subtle word from you about the telltale signs of a romance scam could mean one less report to Consumer Sentinel in 2021 about a heart broken and a wallet emptied by a romance scammer. It can be a difficult topic to broach, but we have a sure-fire opener: “I just read the most fascinating thing on the website of the Federal Trade Commission, America’s consumer protection agency.” (What? That’s not your typical conversation starter? No Valentine for you!) Regardless of how you bring up the topic, Valentine’s Day offers a way to share some heart-to-heart hints. Romance scams can happen to anyone. According to the Data Spotlight, reports of money lost on romance scams increased for every age group in 2020. The 20-29 crowd saw the most notable spike, with the number of reports more than doubling since 2019. People between 40 and 69 were once again the most likely to report losing money to romance scams. And people 70+ reported the highest individual median losses at $9,475. Every picture tells a story, but some of those stories are fiction. Knowing that fetching photos can lure in a love, scammers routinely steal people’s snaps and pass themselves off as the person in the picture. To investigate their identity, try a reverse-image search of their profile picture or other photos they send you. If the picture is associated with another name or if the details don’t match up, you’re dealing with a scammer. Don’t mix romance with finance. We’ve always cautioned people not to wire money or send gift cards to online loves, but we have a new tip to add. Don’t let your guard down just because that special someone sends you money first. You can bet the money’s stolen. Next, they’ll want you to send it on for some cooked-up reason. This is how people become unwitting accomplices to money laundering. As soon as the requests for money start, it’s time to – depending on your musical generation – Go Your Own Way , bid them Bye Bye Bye , or make it clear that We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together . The FTC has more advice on how to spot a romance scam . ","id":3191273,"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"pubDate":"Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:11:56 +0200","titre":"Fighting Coronavirus scams: Taking stock","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2020/05/fighting-coronavirus-scams-taking-stock","id":3189429,"description":"Fighting Coronavirus scams: Taking stock chundycz May 8, 2020 | 9:01AM Fighting Coronavirus scams: Taking stock By Andrew Smith, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the FTC has released dozens of warning letters against people trying to make an illegal buck off the Coronavirus. More than a month in, it seems like a good time to look back at what’s happened. If you follow this blog, you’ll know these have been busy weeks – with advice about spotting the many scams we’re all facing, news of the warning letters sent on a wide range of scams, and some enforcement actions filed. You might wonder: Why send letters? Why not just sue the !*$@&#? Fair question. But the letters are working. And, given the scope of the scams out there right now, we want to get the best and fastest results we can with the most efficient tool we have. Right now, for these Coronavirus-related issues, that’s warning letters. In general, here’s how it goes: We spot someone advertising something with no proof that it works – and, in many cases, telling outright lies about its wonders. We send a letter pointing out the illegal things they’re doing. They then have 48 hours to tell us what they’ve done to resolve the problems we’ve raised. In nearly all cases so far, those who get the letters have stopped making the false claims or selling the scammy thing – whether cures from a product or earnings from a work-at-home scheme. Within 48 hours: no more lying to people, no more stealing people’s money. During a crisis like this, we’ve prioritized stopping as many bad actors as we can, as quickly as we can. And when a warning letter will do that, we’ll take that win. Most of the letters sent so far relate to the first scams out of the box: the treatments and cures – many of which we heard about from you. These treatments and cures were, of course, not at all what they claimed to be. The sellers peddled everything from teas and essential oils to IV or ozone “therapies,” stem cell treatments, and high doses of Vitamin C. All of these products have had one thing in common: There was no evidence – none – that they work against the Coronavirus. The warning letters are working in other areas, too. We’ve sent 13 letters to VoIP service providers and other companies, telling them we see how they’re helping illegal telemarketers or robocallers make calls related to COVID-19, and telling them to cut it out. And, just two weeks ago, we sent 10 letters to multi-level marketing (MLM) companies for making exaggerated earnings claims for their business opportunity selling fake Coronavirus treatments or cures from home. These companies hit the daily double: false income claims for their work-at-home program and unsubstantiated health claims for their products. But sometimes you need more firepower to get the desired result. It took a lawsuit to stop a company that, allegedly, pretended to be affiliated with the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, fooling hundreds – if not thousands – of small businesses. And, last week, we filed suit against Whole Leaf Organics for allegedly claiming to treat not only the Coronavirus, but also cancer with CBD. Both cases are now pending. What we know about COVID-19 changes every week. And right now, the scammers are shifting their focus to the economic impact payments, among other things, to find new ways to get your money or information. But here are some things that remain true: Scammers are peddling cures and treatments with no proof they work. Remember: Right now, there is nothing that has been proven to prevent COVID-19. Anyone who tells you to pay them by gift card, money transfer, cash, or Bitcoin is a scammer. Period. And, if they say they’re from the government, they’re not. Never give your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number to anyone who contacts you. Again, not even if they say","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"titre":"The Law Firm Inflection Point","url":"https://www.slaw.ca/2026/07/07/the-law-firm-inflection-point/","pubDate":"Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:02:35 +0200","description":"The troika of artificial intelligence, pricing, and talent transience has been with us for some time now. As a result, traditional pyramid-structured law firms grappling with these bet-the-business juggernauts are at an inflection point. I propose a flatter way forward. I have been writing and talking about this issue for many years, most recently as part of my ‘The Law Firm’ series: Pyramid Rollover , Private Equity Puzzle , Disappearing Act , Foundational Rebuild , and now this one, Inflection Point. My argument throughout this series is that traditional law firm pyramid structures will not hold against AI, pricing, and . . . [more] The post The Law Firm Inflection Point appeared first on Slaw","id":3014346,"source":"Slaw"},{"url":"https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-requires-amazon-pay-225-million-resolve-charges-it-knowingly-violated-fair-credit-reporting-act","titre":"FTC Requires Amazon to Pay $2.25 Million to Resolve Charges It Knowingly Violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act","pubDate":"Wed, 01 Jul 2026 08:09:43 +0200","source":"Federal Trade Commission - Protecting America's Consumers","description":"Amazon will pay $2.25 million in civil penalties to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the online retail giant knowingly violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide transaction records to consumers whose personal information was used by identity thieves to commit fraud. The complaint , filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, alleged that in numerous instances, Amazon.com Inc. failed to comply with Section 609(e) of the FCRA, which requires companies to, within 30 days of a consumer’s request, provide victims of identity theft with application and business transaction records about fraudulent transactions made in their names. According to the complaint, Amazon had no written policy to respond to Section 609(e) requests until early 2025, after it learned of the FTC’s investigation, despite prior outreach from FTC staff advising the company to review its compliance with Section 609(e). “Amazon often put identity theft victims through a Kafkaesque ordeal by demanding they identify the thief who stole their information before Amazon would release the records the law entitles them to—records that could help victims protect themselves and recover from the fraudulent conduct,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will not allow companies to simply ignore their legal obligations, especially those designed to support and protect identity theft victims.” Many consumers who contacted Amazon to report fraud were told by its customer service agents that they could not provide the requested records for “security” or “privacy” reasons, the complaint alleged. For example, one consumer reported that when they contacted Amazon seeking business records related to unauthorized charges stemming from a fraudulent account, a company representative said they could not share details about the other account that had used the consumer’s credit card for “security reasons” unless the consumer guessed the name on the account (the name used by the identity thief), which the consumer was unable to do after making 30 attempts. The complaint alleged that in other instances, Amazon agents told consumers they were not able to access the requested records. Amazon even refused to provide application and business transaction records to law enforcement agencies who had been authorized to, and who did, submit requests to Amazon on behalf of consumers who were victims of identity theft. Some frustrated consumers resorted to sending copies of the FCRA and FTC guidance to Amazon in hopes of receiving the requested records, but Amazon still failed to comply with the law. The complaint also alleged that in some cases where Amazon ultimately provided requested records, it failed to respond to consumers within the 30-day timeframe required by the FCRA. In addition to the $2.25 million civil penalty—a record for a Section 609(e) violation—the proposed order will prohibit Amazon from failing to comply with Section 609(e) of the FCRA, requiring the company to provide the records lawfully requested by identity theft victims and law enforcement agencies acting on their behalf. The order also requires Amazon to provide notice to consumers about how identity theft victims can request records under the FCRA. The company must also contact consumers who had requested records since April 2024 from Amazon but did not receive them to inform these consumers that it may have additional records and that the consumers may request those records from Amazon. This is the second case the FTC has brought using its authority under Section 609(e) of the FCRA. The FTC announced its first case involving a violation of Section 609(e) of the FCRA in 2020 against Kohl’s Department Stores Inc . The Commission voted 2-0 to authorize the staff to refer the complaint to the DOJ and to approve the proposed stipulated order. The DOJ filed the complaint and final","id":2997627},{"id":2703238,"description":"Brussels, 18 February - The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has adopted a  report on its Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF) action on the right to be forgotten (Art.17 GDPR) .  The  Board selected this topic  as it is one of the most frequently exercised GDPR rights and one about which DPAs frequently receive complaints from individuals. The main objectives of this coordinated action are to ensure that the right to erasure is effectively exercised by individuals in Europe and understand how controllers comply with this right in practice. In addition, the EDPB identified good practices and the most important related challenges, with the aim of providing further guidance on this topic.  Throughout 2025, 32 DPAs across Europe took part in this initiative. More specifically, 9 DPAs have initiated new formal investigations or have continued ongoing ones, and 23 DPAs carried out a fact-finding exercise. A total of 764 controllers across Europe responded to the action, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to big companies active in many different industries and fields, as well as various types of public entities. The results of these national actions have been aggregated and analysed together allowing for targeted follow-up on both national and EU level.   Areas of improvement and main challenges The report lists the issues that were identified, along with a series of recommendations addressed to controllers, to help them implement the right to erasure. Seven recurring main challenges were identified by DPAs. The results confirmed some of the findings of the 2024 coordinated action on the right of access , for example when it comes to the lack of appropriate internal procedures to handle requests, or the lack of sufficient information provided to individuals. In addition, participating DPAs reported specific findings related to the reliance by some controllers on inefficient anonymisation techniques to handle erasure requests as an alternative to deletion. DPAs also noted inconsistent practices, and the difficulties faced by controllers regarding the determination of retention periods and the deletion of personal data in the context of back-ups. In addition, as the right to erasure is not an absolute right, some controllers face difficulties in assessing and applying the conditions for the exercise of this right, including in carrying out the different balancing tests between the right to erasure and other rights and freedoms.   Follow-up to help organisations comply  Extensive guidance, documents and templates exist at national level to help controllers comply with the right of erasure and help individuals exercise this right. In line with the Helsinki Statement’s objectives of making GDPR compliance easier and ensuring consistent interpretation and enforcement across Europe, the extensive guidance and templates already available at national level will be leveraged at EDPB level where appropriate.   Background and next steps The CEF is a key action of the EDPB under its 2024-2027 Strategy , aimed at streamlining enforcement and cooperation among DPAs.  In 2023, the EDPB published the report on its first coordinated action on the  use of cloud-based services by the public sector . In 2024, the EDPB also published the report on the outcome of the second coordinated action on the  designation and position of Data Protection Officers . In 2025, the EDPB issued the report on its third coordination action on the  implementation of the right of access . The CEF 2026 action will be on the  obligations of transparency and information under the GDPR .   For further information: DA DPA:   EDPB vedtager rapport om dataansvarliges overholdelse af retten til sletning EL DPA: Ολοκλήρωση της συντονισμένης δράσης του","source":"EDPB News","pubDate":"Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:27:14 +0100","titre":"EDPB identifies challenges hindering the full implementation of the right to erasure","url":"https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2026/edpb-identifies-challenges-hindering-full-implementation-right-erasure_en"}]