The Federal Trade Commission is continuing to pursue bloggers who fail to disclose that they received incentives to discuss a company’s products. Back in December, the Federal Trade Commission released new guidelines that specifically required bloggers to disclose any material connections to a product or company they are writing about. The FTC is focusing its…
Tag: FTC
Is Your Copier in Compliance?
I remember the days of the mimeograph. In class people would inevitably sniff the newly printed pages. For a teacher, the danger was that the latent copy would fall into the wrong hands. Animal House highlighted that danger. Current day copiers are much more advanced than the mimeograph, but the dangers of the latent copy…
The Second FTC Action for Online Endorsements
Back in December, the Federal Trade Commission released new guidelines that specifically required bloggers to disclose any material connections to a product or company they are writing about. In May, they brought their first action under those guidelines against Ann Taylor. The FTC declined to bring an enforcement action. Last week, they brought their second…
FTC and Bloggers
Back in December, the Federal Trade Commission released new guidelines that specifically required bloggers to disclose any material connections to a product or company they are writing about. The FTC had opened an investigation against Ann Taylor Stores for providing gifts to bloggers who the company expected would post blog content about Ann Taylor’s LOFT…
Feds Release Usable Model Consumer Privacy Notice
There was much cheering when federal regulators finally released their Final Model Privacy Notice Form back in November. That was quickly followed by a gnashing of teeth when it turns out the regulators did not understand the concept of a form or how to use Adobe Acrobat. They merely created a static document that you…
You Are Here: From the FTC for Your Kids
We’re from the government. We’re here to help. The Federal Trade Commission has launched a new site designed to help kids learn to protect their privacy, spot frauds and scams, and avoid identity theft. You Are Here is set up as a virtual mall. Visit the West Terrace to learn about advertising techniques, target marketing,…
FTC Guidelines Are In Effect
Today is a the day. The FTC’s recent updates to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising are now in affect. To comply with the Guides, individuals (bloggers, users of social media) must disclose every “material connection” or relationship they have with an advertiser. How to comply with the changes? Disclose…
Federal Regulators Issue Final Model Privacy Notice Form
Eight federal regulatory agencies today released the final model privacy notice form. It’s supposed to make it easier for consumers to understand how financial institutions collect and share information about consumers. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, institutions must notify consumers of their information-sharing practices and inform consumers of their right to opt out of certain sharing…
National Data Privacy Laws Move Forward
With last week’s further revisions to the Massachusetts Data Privacy Law [Massachusetts Amends Its Strict Data Privacy Law (Yet, Again)], people are wondering if the federal government is going to step into the space and create a national standard. Most states have enacted some form of data breach or data privacy law, crating patchwork of…
Updated FTC Guidelines Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements
On October 5, the FTC released their updated guidelines to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the Federal Trade Commission Act. The guidelines were last updated in 1980. Clearly technology and publishing has changed significantly in the past 30 years. The revised Guides also add new examples to…