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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…
How to Sell E-cigarettes and Avoid an FTC Investigation
January 20, 2011
How to Sell E-cigarettes and Avoid an FTC Investigation
By: Ifrah Law
Customers are flocking to electronic cigarettes — battery-operated nicotine delivery devices that are meant to replicate the flavor and sensation of smoking a tobacco cigarette. While merchants and advertisers are understandably eager to participate in this growing industry, we predict that the FTC will be watching ads carefully in anticipation of enforcing its advertising rules. The FTC can regulate advertisements for any product, but it…
New Law Gives Enforcers Added Power Against Online Marketers
January 10, 2011
New Law Gives Enforcers Added Power Against Online Marketers
By: Ifrah Law
In the waning days of 2010, the lame-duck Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a law that is almost certainly going to have major effects on the affiliate marketing industry. The FTC is poised to begin enforcing the “Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act,” which is intended to protect consumers from deceptive online sales tactics – but in doing so, imposes new requirements on the entire…
FTC Issues New Rule on Mortgage Scammers
January 10, 2011
FTC Issues New Rule on Mortgage Scammers
By: Ifrah Law
As the economic crisis continues for many homeowners, the Federal Trade Commission has taken actions to protect homeowners from mortgage relief scams. Most of the new requirements took effect on December 29, 2010, and all of the new requirements can be applied to affiliate marketers, who immediately need to be aware of the rule. The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule was approved by the…
Suit Against FTC Asks: Did Agency Change Advertising Rules in Middle of Game?
September 17, 2010
Suit Against FTC Asks: Did Agency Change Advertising Rules in Middle of Game?
By: Ifrah Law
Is there a way to hold a government agency like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accountable for the cost to businesses of what a company says are abrupt and systemic changes in regulatory standards? POM Wonderful LLC, a Los Angeles-based juice company, is trying to do just that by suing the FTC in District Court. The FTC is reportedly investigating POM for alleged false advertising…
In Rare Ruling, Court Permits Discovery Into Motives Behind FTC Subpoena
July 26, 2010
In Rare Ruling, Court Permits Discovery Into Motives Behind FTC Subpoena
By: Ifrah Law
When a U.S. magistrate judge in the District of Columbia issued his ruling in Federal Trade Commission v. Bisaro on July 13, 2010, permitting limited discovery of certain FTC officials regarding an agency subpoena, it had been more than three decades since the D.C. Circuit had found that “extraordinary circumstances” were present that warranted discovery in a subpoena enforcement action. Subpoena enforcement proceedings are typically…
