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: 889
FTC doesn’t assume consumers can discern bad ad claims
When evaluating advertising claims, the Federal Trade Commission not only seeks to protect consumers, but often assumes that they cannot evaluate claims themselves.
US-EU data transfer deal gets cheers and jeers
Almost as soon as word came down that a tentative agreement had been reached between the US and the European Union to govern the transfer of data from Europe to the United States, US technology and...
Critics press FTC to re-examine Google’s search practices
From the moment, three years ago, that the Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation into allegations that Google manipulated its search practices to favor its own services, critics have...
Bill banning restrictions on online reviews stalling in House
The Senate usually runs at a glacial pace while the House moves at a more rapid clip. But a bill beefing up the Federal Trade Commission’s authority in policing limits on online speech is having...
LabMD says no consumer harm means FTC data security case is fatally flawed
LabMD, having prevailed before an administrative law judge who threw out the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit charging that the company had failed to provide reasonable security to protect...
Agencies seek more money and people for antitrust enforcement
Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are asking Congress to help them increase their efforts to protect marketplace competition.