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Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
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January 15, 2025
Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
By: Jordan Briggs
Drawn in by the appeal of steady revenue, nearly three-quarters of direct-to-consumer companies now include a subscription model.[1] Everything has a subscription these days: video games, groceries, dating apps—you can even subscribe to a service to cancel your other subscriptions.[2] These subscriptions were not deterred from joining their most prominent predecessor (the gym membership) as an age-old punchline about how hard they are to cancel. However, cancelling subscriptions started to look less like a joke and more like a “trick” or even a “trap,”[3] so the FTC stepped in with the “click-to-cancel” rule to provide clarity to both companies and consumers on what the subscription cancellation process should look like. The click-to-cancel rule is the headliner for a few new…
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Temporary relief from compliance obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act
December 5, 2024
Temporary relief from compliance obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act
By: Steven Eichorn
On December 3, 2024, a U.S. District Court[1] issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that enjoins the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (the CTA)[2]. The CTA requires “reporting companies” in the United States to disclose basic identifying information about their beneficial owners — the individuals who ultimately own or control a company — to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The…
Will Free Speech Become Expensive for Big Tech?
December 2, 2024
Will Free Speech Become Expensive for Big Tech?
By: James Trusty
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act[1] is the federal law that allows internet platforms to host online content without fear of lawsuits based on third party content. In other words, for hosting free speech, internet providers are given immunity from liability if the speech somehow crosses the line from protected free speech into unprotected territory (defamatory, criminal solicitation, etc.). With the recent presidential and…
ICOs: Proceed with Caution
July 25, 2017
ICOs: Proceed with Caution
By: Steven Eichorn
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an investor bulletin and an investigative report. The investigative report found that companies involved in sales of digital assets via distributed ledger or blockchain technology may be engaged in conduct subject to federal securities laws. While this report is the first of its kind to address initial coin offerings (“ICO”) or token sales and securities regulation, companies…
The FTC’s Role in Privacy
April 22, 2017
The FTC’s Role in Privacy
By: Nicole Kardell
Acting Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Maureen Ohlhausen, answered questions about the FTC’s current role in data privacy before a crowded audience at the April 2017 IAPP Global Privacy Summit in D.C. Below are some take-aways we wanted to share from Commissioner Ohlhausen’s talk: Even if out of ISP oversight, the FTC is actively engaged in data privacy enforcement through its consumer protection role….
D.C. Circuit v. FCC – More Pushback to Come?
April 17, 2017
D.C. Circuit v. FCC – More Pushback to Come?
By: Michelle Cohen
Over the past several years, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) took an expansive view of its rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). The TCPA bars certain calls, texts and faxes without prior express consent and requires disclosures and opt-out procedures. While the FCC and state attorney generals may enforce the TCPA, the law’s truth “teeth” come in the form of private…
Online Reviewers Get New Protections
January 12, 2017
Online Reviewers Get New Protections
By: Michelle Cohen
Your business booked a large charity event. However, the customer contact turns out to be a nightmare. She complains (during and after the event) that the service was slow, the food looked and tasted like a frozen meal, and the drinks were watered down. She even claims she was overcharged. You reviewed the situation and, while you disagree, you offer her a credit. She declines…
Can Your Pacemaker Be Hacked?
January 4, 2017
Can Your Pacemaker Be Hacked?
By: Drew Barnholtz
Tom Kellermann, CEO of Strategic Cyber Ventures guest co-authored this post. A famous Homeland episode involved a terrorist gaining access to the Vice-President’s pacemaker. Accessing medical devices to wreak havoc was one of the motivations behind certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (aka the DMCA). The DMCA makes it “illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works.” Section…
