Over the past ten years, new technologies have forced a dizzying pace of evolution in advertising and marketing.  All of this change begs the question:  what will the next ten years bring?  How will AI eliminate inefficiencies and create new challenges?  In what ways will advertising enable access to content and enable consumer purchase decisions?  What role will biometric data play in accessing, personalizing, and securing products and services?  And how will companies meet the…

This summer, the NCAA suspended its long-standing policy that restricted student-athletes from being able to generate income from their name, image, and likeness (commonly referred to as “NIL”). It didn’t take brands long to take advantage of the new opportunities. In the short time since the NCAA made its announcement, a number of companies and student-athletes have announced endorsement and influencer deals. We’re likely to see a lot more as the school year kicks off.…

In an aggressive expansion of its security and privacy enforcement programs, on September 15, 2021, the FTC issued what it characterized as a “Policy Statement” reinterpreting an old rule about personal health records. First, some background. In 2009, Congress directed the FTC to create a rule requiring companies to provide notice when there is an unauthorized acquisition of certain health information not covered by HIPAA.  At the time, the FTC explained that its…

Last year, we posted about how some companies had retroactively changed their refund policies after COVID-19 hit, and we noted some of the potential pitfalls associated with that strategy. Lawsuits and regulatory investigations soon followed, and many have been working their way through the system. This week, ten states and DC announced that StubHub had agreed to pay over $9.5 million in refunds to end one such investigation. Before the pandemic, StubHub offered consumers cash…

The future composition of the FTC became a bit clearer on Monday, as the White House announced that President Biden will nominate privacy expert and scholar Alvaro Bedoya as FTC commissioner.  If confirmed, Bedoya would take the seat currently held by Commissioner Rohit Chopra, whose nomination as CFPB Director remains pending, and serve in a term that ends in September 2026. Bedoya is currently a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown and is the Founding…