On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision in a closely watched web accessibility case, holding that websites do not constitute places of public accommodations under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The decision—Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.—represents a departure from what has been a trend toward increasingly expansive interpretations of the ADA, and it is likely to prompt renewed conversations regarding whether and…

On April 29, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a public workshop to examine consumer protection issues related to “dark patterns”—website and app interface features designed to subvert or impair consumer autonomy, decision-making, or choices. In a recent statement, FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra defined dark patterns as “design features used to deceive, steer, or manipulate users into behavior that is profitable for an online service, but often harmful to users or contrary…

In a published ruling, the Ninth Circuit recently held that a company potentially stated a claim for false advertising under the Lanham Act when it alleged that a product review site had significant undisclosed financial connections to a competitor while purporting to be independent. In Ariix, LLC v. NutriSearch Corp., 985 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 2021), a dietary supplement manufacturer lodged a false advertising Lanham Act claim against product review site NutriSearch, alleging that it…

Jason Howell, Amanda Beane and guest Lindsey Buckner from 7-Eleven discuss common challenges for in-house legal, including how to seamlessly integrate with in-house marketing teams and how to create work-life boundaries while working from home during the pandemic. Listen here.…

President Biden has appointed Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as acting chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. In this role, she is expected to pursue the priorities of the new administration and begin to roll back many of the policies and rules adopted by the FCC during the Trump administration. In this client update, we examined Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s published dissents and concurrences that she previously issued to provide an overview of her likely priorities…

On January 8, 2021, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced proposed regulations that would significantly affect how businesses selling to California consumers may use short-form Proposition 65 warnings on their products. These proposed regulations, if finalized, may create new compliance obligations and will likely decrease the use of the short-form Proposition 65 labeling in the marketplace. Click here to read the full Perkins Coie Update.…

Key Takeaways: The FTC’s Enforcement Policy on S. Origin Claims and related compliance guide apply to advertising of “Made in USA” or similar U.S. origin claims, including manufacturer advertisements of private label products to trade customers who will later market and sell such products under retail brand names. The $1.2 million settlement is the largest obtained by the FTC in a Made in USA case and reinforces prior signals that the agency will continue to…