May 2014

FTC Targets Online Advertising Industry

This week, Associate Director Maneesha Mithal of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, detailing the FTC’s renewed focus on the online advertising industry.  Specifically, the Associate Director made clear that the FTC is now aggressively targeting issues relating to privacy, spyware/malware and data security.   […]

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Rivals Pounce on Overblown Ad Claims

Wall Street Journal Quotes KMT Managing Partner David O. Klein Small Businesses Often Tripped Up by Rules, Suits Craig Dubitsky, founder and CEO of Hello Products, which was sued by Procter & Gamble. Daniella Weeks after Craig Dubitsky’s new company delivered its first shipment of “pink grapefruit” and “mojito mint” toothpaste to about 8,000 stores across the

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Multi-Level Marketing Firm Settles Pyramid Scheme Allegations with the FTC

Yesterday, Fortune Hi-Tec Marketing, Inc. (FHTM) and its principals (which were individually named in the complaint), settled a suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that the company had engaged in an international pyramid scheme for the last four (4) years.  The FTC’s complaint alleged that FHTM falsely represented to consumers that they

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Fantasy Sports Contests: Avoiding Civil and Criminal Liability

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (“UIGEA”) prohibits any person engaged in the business of betting or wagering from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation by another person in unlawful Internet gambling.   Violation of this statute may result in criminal penalties, including monetary fines and imprisonment for up to five (5)

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Yahoo! Pulls the Plug on Do-Not-Track Mechanism

#119384310 / gettyimages.com In November of 2011, the World Wide Web Consortium, an international organization that develops privacy and safety standards for the Internet, proposed a Do-Not-Track mechanism that would allow users to control their privacy settings via an easy to use Do-Not-Track header on their browsers.  Through this header, which the World Wide Web

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Express Consent on TCPA Debt Collection Calls

A recent federal district court ruling provides more guidance on how courts define “express consent” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) in the debt collection setting.  In Sharp v. Allied Interstate Inc., the court relied on earlier Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) rulings that had found that prior express consent had been provided by consumers

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