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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…
Criminal Background Checks? The FTC Knows There’s an App for That
January 24, 2013
Criminal Background Checks? The FTC Knows There’s an App for That
By: Ifrah Law
As we cautioned in a September post, the FTC is stepping up enforcement actions against mobile app developers for failure to comply with consumer protection principles. This month, the FTC took another major step in that direction with a groundbreaking settlement applying the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to app developers Filquarian Publishing, LLC, Choice Level, LLC, and Joshua Linsk. The FCRA is a consumer…
NLRB: Use of Social Media Can Be Protected Employee Activity
January 21, 2013
NLRB: Use of Social Media Can Be Protected Employee Activity
By: Ifrah Law
The rise of social media has led to the application of old law to new forms of communication. For instance, an effort by the National Labor Relations Board to educate workers on their right to engage in protected concerted activity has left some employers feeling that the NLRB went too far in supporting employees’ rights – particularly their right to post disparaging work-related comments on…
Can ‘Disparate Impact’ Become the Basis for a Fair-Lending Claim?
December 31, 2012
Can ‘Disparate Impact’ Become the Basis for a Fair-Lending Claim?
By: Nicole Kardell
As part of its aggressive program to protect consumers in financial matters, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) has announced that it is prepared to adopt a controversial “disparate impact” theory of liability against lenders. A case that the U.S. Supreme Court may accept would have a major impact on whether the CFPB is actually going to be able to do that. The “disparate impact”…
FTC Seeking Information From 9 Data Brokers in Industry Probe
December 20, 2012
FTC Seeking Information From 9 Data Brokers in Industry Probe
By: Ifrah Law
On December 18, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission issued orders requiring nine data brokerage companies to provide the agency with information on how they collect data from consumers and use it. The nine companies asked to provide this data to the FTC include Acxiom, Datalogix, Intellius and Peekyou. Data brokers are companies that collect personal information about consumers from a variety of sources, both public…
FCC Ruling Permits Confirmation Text Messages for ‘Opt-Out’ Customers
December 3, 2012
FCC Ruling Permits Confirmation Text Messages for ‘Opt-Out’ Customers
By: Michelle Cohen
The Federal Communications Commission recently ruled that companies may send a one-time text message confirming a consumer’s opt-out of texts without violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), and potentially facing large class action lawsuits. This pro-business ruling represents a victory for SoundBite, the company that sought a declaratory ruling from the FCC, as well as for other businesses that use mobile texting to communicate…
