: The Federal Trade Commission will co-host a workshop on May 14-15, 2026, with George Mason University Law School’s Institute for Consumer Financial Choice (ICFC) focusing on developments in the financial services marketplace in the five years since the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law. The event’s first day, which will be led by the FTC, will feature opening remarks from Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, as well as ICFC Co-Directors Todd Zywicki and Tom Miller. It will also include two panel discussions focused on innovations in the financial services marketplace and on the implications for consumers, businesses, and regulators of new products and tech applications. The second day, led by the ICFC, will feature three panel discussions focused on the findings of a report from the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law. The event is free and open to the public and will take place in person at [...]
: The Federal Trade Commission today announced new fees for telemarketers to access phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry for Fiscal Year 2027 which begins on October 1, 2026. All telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the National DNC Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free to download, and organizations that are exempt, such as some charities and political callers, may obtain the entire list for free. Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers. The cost of accessing a single area code in the registry will be $85 in FY 2027, which is an increase of $3 from FY 2026. The maximum charge to any single entity for accessing all area codes nationwide will be $23,425 (up from $22,626 in FY 2026). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will increase to $43 in FY 2027 from $41 in FY 2026. The Commission vote autho[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition from X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, to set aside or modify its 2022 settlement order with the agency . In its petition to the Commission, X Corp. cited several reasons why it believes that the order should either be set aside or modified so that it terminates at the end of 2026. The petition argues: The order was imposed on a company that no longer exists, that every individual responsible for the underlying failures has left the company and that X Corp. has since built a world-class privacy and data-protection program; The order no longer serves any valid regulatory purpose, imposing millions of dollars in needless costs to address obligations and protections already required by domestic and international privacy regimes and industry-recognized frameworks that X Corp. follows; Setting aside the order safeguards First Amendment values; and Setting aside or modifying the order is critical to advancing American leadership in artificial i[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Illusory Systems Inc. for failing to implement adequate data security measures, leading to a major security breach in which hackers stole $186 million from consumers. Under a proposed order settling the FTC’s allegations, Utah-based Illusory, which does business as Nomad, will be required to implement an information security program to address numerous alleged security failures and to return recovered money to affected consumers. “The FTC Act requires companies to take reasonable security measures,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It’s important that companies live up to their security promises to consumers.” In its complaint , the FTC alleged that Nomad prominently touted its security in its advertising, claiming that it offered “security-first” services. The FTC, however, alleged that the company failed to live up to these promises by failing to: use secure coding practices; implement processes for recei[...]
: FleetCor and its CEO will pay $100 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission administrative action alleging that the company charged its customers, who overwhelmingly are small businesses, undisclosed fees in connection with their use of fuel cards that FleetCor falsely promised businesses would save them money. In a complaint first filed in federal court in 2019 , the FTC alleged that FleetCor Technologies Inc., now known as Corpay Inc., and its CEO Ronald Clarke imposed a broad array of unauthorized fees that its customers never knew about and did not agree to pay, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and harming tens of thousands of customers. In addition, FleetCor charged late fees to customers who had either paid on time or were prevented by FleetCor from paying on time. FleetCor also misrepresented the gas savings, fraud-control features, and fees associated with its fuel cards. “FleetCor deceived its small business customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized, while unfairly cha[...]
: Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced that grocery delivery provider Instacart will pay $60 million in refunds to consumers to settle allegations that the company engaged in numerous unlawful tactics that harmed shoppers and raised the cost of grocery shopping for Americans. Instacart will be required to cease its deceptive practices under a proposed FTC order, and consumers who were charged for Instacart+ without their express informed consent will receive refunds as a result of the settlement. “Instacart misled consumers by advertising free delivery services—and then charging consumers to have groceries delivered—and failing to disclose to consumers that signed up for a free trial that they would be automatically enrolled into its subscription program,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms.” The FTC has alleged that[...]
: Defendants behind a wide-ranging operation known as Growth Cave, including its co-CEOs, are permanently banned from marketing and selling business opportunities and credit repair programs as part of an FTC settlement to resolve allegations that their scheme cost consumers nearly $50 million. As part of that settlement, Growth Cave’s co-CEOs also will be required to liquidate millions of dollars’ worth of assets, including a multimillion-dollar house, to provide consumer redress. “On day one, the Trump-Vance FTC reprioritized combatting fraud that harms American markets. Today’s successful resolution demonstrates that the Commission is focused on protecting our markets from dishonest actors,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The FTC sued Growth Cave in February 2025, alleging that consumers were deceived by false promises of significant income. Growth Cave allegedly offered numerous business opportunities, which regularly failed to deliver the promised results[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order with General Motors and OnStar settling allegations that they collected, used, and sold consumers’ precise geolocation data and driving behavior data from millions of vehicles without adequately notifying consumers and obtaining their affirmative consent. Under the order finalized by the Commission, General Motors LLC, General Motors Holdings LLC, and OnStar, LLC (collectively GM), which are owned by General Motors Company, are prohibited from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies. They also are required to take steps to provide greater transparency and choice to consumers over the collection, use, and disclosure of their connected vehicle data. In a complaint first announced in January 2025, the FTC alleged that GM used a misleading enrollment process to get consumers to sign up for its OnStar connected vehicle service and OnStar Smart Driver feature. The FTC also alleged that GM failed to clearly disclose that it collected consumers’ [...]
: The Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement today announcing that the Commission will not bring an enforcement action under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule) against certain website and online service operators that collect, use, and disclose personal information for the sole purpose of determining a user’s age via age verification technologies. The COPPA Rule requires operators of commercial websites or online services directed to children under 13, and operators with actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from a child, to provide notice of their information practices to parents and to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information collected from a child under 13. Age verification technologies play a critical role in helping parents as they monitor their children’s online activities. Since COPPA was enacted in 1998, there’s been an explosion in the use of internet-connected technologies by children. To he[...]
: New data from the Federal Trade Commission reveal that people reported losing a staggering $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, with reported losses increasing nearly three times since 2020. FTC data also show that people reported imposter scams more than any other fraud category in 2025—nearly one in three fraud reports were about imposter scams. These scams lured consumers through text, phone, email, social media, search engine results and other means. Some of the costliest impersonation scams start with a fake security alert, often from a bank. People are convinced to move money to “protect” it, with their losses often limited only by their available funds. Last year, people reported losing nearly $1 billion to business impersonators with the highest reported losses to bank impersonators—and about $920 million to government impersonators, up from $866 million and $789 million respectively in 2024. The FTC has seen a striking increase in reported fraud losses to all types of fraud—about $16 billion was [...]
: 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[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission today began enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act (TIDA), a law requiring platforms, at the request of victims, to remove intimate photos or videos shared online without victims’ consent. As part of its enforcement role, the FTC has launched TakeItDown.ftc.gov , a website allowing victims and survivors to submit complaints about platforms that have failed to act on valid requests for the removal of nonconsensual intimate images. The website also accepts complaints about platforms that have failed to create a process for people to request removal of these images. “Thanks to First Lady Melania Trump’s dedication, the public, especially children, will have recourse against digital exploitation and extortion,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “In the age of AI, anyone can be targeted, and that becomes even more appalling if children are involved. The TAKE IT DOWN Act empowers families and provides the FTC with an effective tool to protect minors against this form of abuse.” The FTC enf[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission finalized orders requiring Cox Media Group (CMG) and two other firms to pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations they deceived customers by falsely claiming to offer an AI-powered service that could target localized ads based on conversations captured from consumers’ smart devices and that consumers had opted into such targeting. In three separate complaints first announced in May , the FTC alleged that Georgia-based media and marketing company CMG Media Corporation, which does business as Cox Media Group , and two marketing firms it worked with, New Hampshire-based MindSift LLC and Wisconsin-based 1010 Digital Works LLC , deceived customers by claiming they used a special algorithm to listen in on and detect pertinent conversations from smart devices in order to target ads to consumers within a specific geographic region. Contrary to these companies’ claims, however, the marketing service wasn’t based on voice data, and consumers hadn’t opted into this service. If the s[...]
: Today, 22 states joined the Federal Trade Commission in filing suit against Amazon, alleging that the company engaged in deceptive and unfair practices that secretly inflated prices in its online search advertising auctions. The complaint alleges that, for over seven years, Amazon has covertly and substantially increased the prices that more than one million brands and sellers were required to pay to advertise on its platform. As a result, the complaint alleges that Amazon’s scheme has likely extracted tens of billions of dollars from its unwitting advertising customers. “When one of the world’s largest online retailers engages in unfair and deceptive conduct, the impact can be staggering,” said Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “Amazon has millions of advertising customers who were misled into paying significantly higher prices. These higher costs were largely passed on to American consumers. The FTC under President Trump won’t allow this deception to continue.” The FTC, along with the attorneys general of Ala[...]
: Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of cryptocurrency platform Celsius Network Inc. (Celsius), and his business partners, Shlomi Daniel Leon and Hanoch “Nuke” Goldstein, will pay a total of $16.5 million to resolve the Federal Trade Commission’s charges that they deceived users by falsely promising that deposits made to their cryptocurrency platform would be safe and always available. Mashinsky and Leon have also agreed to a ban on marketing or selling products or services that can be used to deposit, exchange, invest or withdraw assets. Similarly, Goldstein has agreed to a ban on marketing or selling retail products or services that can be used to buy, sell, deposit, withdraw, distribute or trade cryptocurrency. In its July 2023 complaint , the FTC alleged that Celsius and its co-founders promised consumers that Celsius was “safer” than a bank or other traditional financial institutions and misrepresented that their deposits were safe because Celsius earned profits at “no risk” to consumers by making secur[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling more than $27.6 million to consumers who were enrolled, without their knowledge, in plans where they were shipped and charged repeatedly for products marketed to promote weight loss, clear skin, and other healthcare benefits. According to the FTC’s July 2024 complaint , defendants Legion Media, LLC, KP Commerce, LLC, Pinnacle Payments, LLC, Sloan Health Products, LLC, and their principals, operated two types of unauthorized billing scams. In the first, the FTC alleged that the defendants defrauded consumers who bought CBD and Keto-related products by charging them more than the advertised price and enrolling them in continuity plans without their consent in which they are charged for products they never intended or agreed to buy. Several defendants participated in a second scheme where consumers paid a small shipping fee for a supposedly free “gift.” However, after consumers used their credit and debit cards to pay the fee, they incurred recurring un[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order with Publishing.com LLC and its two principals, settling allegations that they misled consumers about how much money consumers were likely to earn using their self-publishing products. Under the order finalized by the Commission, Publishing.com and its principals, CEO Christian Mikkelsen and Chief Product Officer Rasmus Mikkelsen, will pay $1.5 million and be required to substantiate earnings claims in the future. In a complaint first announced in April 2026, the FTC alleged that Publishing.com claimed its programs and services would help consumers earn substantial income publishing e-books and audiobooks online. The FTC further alleged that Christian and Rasmus Mikkelsen claimed that they personally used this system to obtain significant wealth through online self-publishing. The FTC alleged, however, that most consumers who bought Publishing.com’s products and services never made the income the company promised in its advertising. Consumers who sought refunds[...]
: StubHub, the nation’s largest ticket exchange and resale ticket provider, will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated the FTC Act and the agency’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees by deceptively advertising ticket prices on its website without clearly and conspicuously disclosing up-front how much consumers actually would pay, including all mandatory fees. “The Commission’s Fees Rule makes it very clear that the total price of live-event tickets must be disclosed up-front to enable consumers to make fully informed purchasing decisions,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Price transparency is essential to a free and competitive marketplace. Today’s settlement underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that consumers pay the price they are promised.” The FTC’s action against StubHub Holdings, Inc., follows a warning letter the agency sent the online ticket platform in May 2025 stating that multiple prices di[...]