LabMD litigation against FTC lingers
Although the Federal Trade Commission won its effort to quash a lawsuit over its probe of LabMD, the now-defunct medical laboratory is still trying to sue three agency employees.
The pushback on convenience, resort and junk fees
Unexpected, surreptitious fees in retail transactions — additions like “convenience fees” and “resort fees” — have proliferated wildly over the past 30 years. When they aren’t clearly disclosed at the start of a transaction, their omission can deceive consumers and distort the purchase decision....
Current Issue: 855
FTC takes on goliath Amazon on billing practices
As the FTC and Amazon prepare to do battle in federal court over the Commission’s allegation that the internet company reaped millions of dollars through unauthorized on-line purchases by children,...
T-Mobile, FTC fight over “cramming” allegations
The FTC and T-Mobile will soon be duking it out in federal district court over the Commission’s allegation that the telecommunications giant stuck consumers with hundreds of millions of dollars in...
House steps cautiously towards patent troll reform
The FTC may be getting more authority to clamp down on patent assertion entities but the commission doesn’t think a bill passed by a key House subcommittee goes far enough.
Facebook emotion study draws frowns, knits brows
Charging that Facebook “purposefully messed with people’s minds” in conducting a “secretive and non-consensual” study that used personal information to track people’s emotions, a privacy advocacy...
U.S. weighs in on global reach of antitrust laws
Responding to a recent request by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for the government’s views on the potential impact of applying the Sherman Act to conduct in foreign countries –...
FTC at 100: In Roaring Twenties, changing times at FTC
Editor’s Note: With the FTC approaching its 100th-year anniversary, FTC:WATCH has initiated a series of articles highlighting the history of antitrust enforcement in America.