On December 20, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued FleetCor Technologies, Inc., a fuel card marketer, and Ronald Clark, its CEO, in the Northern District of Georgia. The FTC lawsuit alleges that FleetCor charged customers hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden fees, making its promises about helping customers save on fuel costs false. The Defendants market various payment cards, including fuel cards, to companies in the trucking and commercial fleet industry. While the…

In recent days, the ghost of cases past returns to haunt the FTC’s ability to obtain equitable monetary relief under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. Three cases now pending Supreme Court review have the potential to significantly threaten the FTC’s enforcement authority: Liu v. SEC; FTC v. AMG Capital Management, LLC; and FTC v. Credit Bureau Center, LLC. Given the unique posture of each case, in perspective with one another, the Court has the…

On December 19, 2019, the National Advertising Division (NAD) closed out the year with an announcement of its plans to “develop a fast-track process to more efficiently handle certain types of online and social media advertising claims.” These claims include insufficient disclosures, such as influencer posts that fail to disclose an influencer’s material connection with a sponsor; general claims that are in violation of NAD and/or Federal Trade Commission guidance, such as unending sales; and…

Influencers, if you ever wished you had a handy brochure on how to make proper disclosures in your sponsored posts, you are in luck. On Tuesday, the FTC issued a new guide titled “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” along with three videos, that lays out the agency’s guidelines for when and how influencers should disclose their connection to a brand. The principles are nothing new, but they are explained in a…

Have you renewed your DMCA Designated Agent designation with the Copyright Office yet? (If you are unfamiliar with a DMCA Designated Agent, read below for an explanation.) Any company that may have previously qualified for the safe harbor from liability for copyright infringement under Section 512 of the DMCA will lose any ability to claim this safe harbor if the company does not renew its designation of agent within three years of the last online…

Agency Denies Industry Petition and Publishes Revised Draft Guidance The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears set to ramp up enforcement efforts against companies selling homeopathic products. Since 1988, FDA’s enforcement decisions have been made within the framework of Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) § 400.400. Under this policy, the agency generally limited enforcement actions to products that were either inappropriately labeled or manufactured in violation of good manufacturing practice (GMP) regulations. Publication of the…

Last week, the FTC announced yet another settlement with a company regarding its customer review practices. This case involved a popular cosmetics brand that retailed at Sephora—Sunday Riley. According to the FTC, Sunday Riley’s managers and Chief Executive Officer ordered employees and interns to create fake Sephora accounts and submit reviews for their products. The FTC had obtained multiple company emails showing the lengths Sunday Riley went to drive positive customer reviews, including evading Sephora’s…