: $10 million ABCmouse settlement: Avoiding auto-renewal traps lfair September 2, 2020 | 12:10PM $10 million ABCmouse settlement: Avoiding auto-renewal traps By Andrew Smith, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Online subscription services can be a convenience for consumers and a boon for business – especially now that so many people are shopping from home. But under the law, companies have an obligation to explain the details of the deal up front, clearly disclose any automatic renewal terms, get consumers’ express consent before billing, and offer simple ways to cancel. The FTC just announced a $10 million settlement with online learning company ABCmouse for allegedly violating those established consumer protection principles. The case offers lessons for subscription-based businesses about the perils of snaring customers in a negative option trap. The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA ) makes it illegal to charge consumers for products sold through online negative options unless the sell[...]
: Company to pay $22 million for offering "free" credit scores that turned out to be not so free wfg-adm109 November 19, 2014 | 11:12AM Company to pay $22 million for offering "free" credit scores that turned out to be not so free By Lesley Fair We’ve brought law enforcement actions – dozens of ‘em. We’ve held workshops, issued reports, and sent warning letters. If it takes sky writing, tap dancing, and a float in a Thanksgiving Day parade, we’ll do that, too. But here’s what’s not going to happen. The FTC is not giving up until businesses get the message that: 1) Free means free; and 2) Key terms and conditions have to be clearly and conspicuously disclosed. A $22 million settlement announced by the FTC and the AGs of Illinois and Ohio with a national credit monitoring service advertising so-called “free” credit scores emphasizes that point. Another note for practitioners: It's the FTC's third case alleging violations of ROSCA . One Technologies and related outfits marketed their credit monitoring programs, M[...]
: When “IP” stands for illegal practices: Protecting your business from trademark deception lfair September 13, 2024 | 11:10AM When “IP” stands for illegal practices: Protecting your business from trademark deception By Lesley Fair To safeguard the widgets in the warehouse, companies secure their facilities and put inventory controls in place. To protect assets that may be even more valuable – intellectual property like patents and trademarks – savvy businesses follow the registration and renewal processes established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). But guess who else knows how highly your company values your trademarks? Scammers. That’s why they try to trick trademark applicants and owners into paying phony fees by falsely claiming an affiliation with the USPTO or by using other questionable tactics. The USPTO and the FTC have advice on how you and your staff can spot, stop, and report possible trademark-related deception. Some scammers resort to old-school tried-and- un true strateg[...]
: Nitro in the trunk? wfg-adm109 May 5, 2011 | 10:49AM Nitro in the trunk? By Lesley Fair The French movie classic “The Wages of Fear” — remade in 1977 as “The Sorcerer” by American director William Friedkin — was a taut thriller about a team of toughs transporting a payload of volatile nitroglycerine to a remote location in South America. They meet with hazards along the way: a rope bridge hanging by a thread over a flood-swollen river, a boulder blocking a twisted mountain path, and a stretch of road so pot-holed it’s called “The Washboard.” The connection to your business’ approach to data security might not seem readily apparent, but if you have sensitive personal information on your network or in your files, there’s an analogy to draw. Just as your driving habits would change if you were behind the wheel with a trunk full of nitro, so must you adjust your company’s practices, given the sensitivity of the information in your possession. That’s one of the principles illustrated in the FTC’s settlement wi[...]