On December 22, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an order setting aside its 2024 final consent order against Rytr, LLC (“Rytr”) on the grounds that the facts alleged in the Rytr complaint did not violate Section 5. The Commission further found that the Rytr order did not provide any
Continue Reading FTC Sets Aside Rytr Final Order Pursuant to White House AI Action Plan
FTC Announces 10-Year Information Security Consent Orders with Illuminate Education and Illusory Systems
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it agreed to proposed consent orders with two companies that experienced recent cybersecurity incidents, Illuminate Education (“Illuminate”) and Illusory Systems, which does business as Nomad (“Illusory”), to resolve allegations that both companies’ information security practices had violated Section 5 of the FTC
Continue Reading FTC Announces 10-Year Information Security Consent Orders with Illuminate Education and Illusory SystemsGreystar’s $24 Million Settlement Signals FTC Crackdown on Hidden Rental Fee
On December 2, Greystar agreed to a $24 million settlement over allegations it misled renters by omitting mandatory fees from advertised monthly rents. This settlement underscores the FTC’s continuing scrutiny of “junk fees” and signals that the FTC may pursue rulemaking requiring greater transparency in rental fee advertising. Continue Reading Greystar’s $24 Million Settlement Signals FTC Crackdown on Hidden Rental Fee
Recent Class Actions Under State Anti-Spam Laws Target Retail Email Marketing Practices and Raise Questions about CAN-SPAM Act Preemption
A Washington State Supreme Court decision last spring that construed that state’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“CEMA”) to broadly prohibit any misleading information in retailers’ email subject lines has opened the floodgates to similar state spam claims. In the past six months, there have been eight putative class action complaints
Continue Reading Recent Class Actions Under State Anti-Spam Laws Target Retail Email Marketing Practices and Raise Questions about CAN-SPAM Act PreemptionFTC Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster for Deceptive Pricing Tactics
On September 17, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and seven states – Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia – sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (“BOTS Act”). Additionally, each state Attorney General alleges violation of various state consumer protection laws, including the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Nebraska Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act. Continue Reading FTC Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster for Deceptive Pricing Tactics
FTC Takes Aim at Online Lead Generator
On August 7, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a $45 million settlement with online lead generator MediaAlpha, Inc. and its subsidiary QuoteLab, LLC (collectively, “MediaAlpha”), resolving allegations that the companies misled consumers seeking health insurance products. According to the FTC, MediaAlpha tricked consumers into sharing sensitive personal information under the guise of offering health insurance options through their lead generation sites. MediaAlpha allegedly then used that data for abusive telemarketing, including calling numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC also alleged that MediaAlpha auctioned off consumers’ information to third-party lead generators and telemarketers, who similarly used that data to make illegal telemarketing calls.Continue Reading FTC Takes Aim at Online Lead Generator
States Press Forward with Automatic Renewal Laws Amidst Vacating of the FTC’s Negative Option Rule
Autorenewal regulation has been a recent focus of both federal and state regulators. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently vacated the FTC’s Negative Option Rule on procedural grounds, but businesses need to remain vigilant of state regulatory requirements, including new ones that will take effect starting in September. Some of these regulations impose requirements similar to those in the FTC’s now-vacated rule. However, they also impose additional requirements, including regular subscription reminders and price increase notices. Below is a brief update on forthcoming requirements in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York that will impact subscription providers.Continue Reading States Press Forward with Automatic Renewal Laws Amidst Vacating of the FTC’s Negative Option Rule
FTC Targets Weight-Loss Membership Program
In July, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that telemedicine company NextMed agreed to pay $150,000 to settle charges that it deceptively advertised its GLP-1 weight-loss membership programs to consumers. The FTC’s complaint alleged a host of deceptive practices under Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act, including making unsubstantiated weight-loss claims, disseminating fake testimonials and consumer reviews, failing to adequately disclose the terms of its memberships, and purposefully making it difficult for consumers to cancel their memberships.Continue Reading FTC Targets Weight-Loss Membership Program
Eighth Circuit Vacates FTC Negative Option Rule
On July 8, 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued a per curiam decision that vacated the FTC’s revised Negative Option Rule in its entirety. The opinion will become effective when the court issues its mandate, which should happen within seven weeks unless the FTC seeks further review.Continue Reading Eighth Circuit Vacates FTC Negative Option Rule
FTC Challenges Deceptive Artificial Intelligence Claims
In September, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson called for the FTC to regulate artificial intelligence claims through its existing consumer protection authorities: “Imposing comprehensive regulations at the incipiency of a potential technological revolution would be foolish. For now, we should limit ourselves to enforcing existing laws against illegal conduct when it involves AI no differently than when it does not.” Two recently announced enforcement actions involving artificial intelligence underscore the new FTC leadership’s commitment to evaluate AI claims under traditional deception frameworks. Continue Reading FTC Challenges Deceptive Artificial Intelligence Claims