FTC

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Dr. Oz's 'Magic' Diet Bean Loses Lone Study Backing It

Authors retract claims he cited after FTC alleged results 'hopelessly flawed'

(Newser) - In 2012, celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz endorsed green coffee bean extract as a "magic weight-loss cure" even though only one scientific study backed these claims—and it was funded by the extract manufacturer. This week Oz is backed further into a corner as the study's two writers...

Lawsuits: Firms Scamming Folks WIth Student Loans

Illinois attorney general warns consumers about 'predatory' offers

(Newser) - Debt-settlement companies have long targeted people saddled with mortgages or credit card debt, promising more manageable monthly payments, settlements, or even complete loan forgiveness—but now these companies are targeting individuals bogged down with student loans, reports the New York Times . And these companies' tactics may not be on the...

FTC: T-Mobile Crammed Bogus Charges Onto Bills

And made hundreds of millions in the process

(Newser) - If you're a T-Mobile customer, the following is unlikely to deepen your love for your mobile carrier. The FTC today filed a complaint alleging that T-Mobile has for years "crammed bogus charges onto customers' bills," making hundreds of millions in the process, per a press release on...

Aggressive Debt Collector Pays $3.2M Fine
Aggressive Debt Collector
Pays $3.2M Fine
in case you missed it
Jul 14, 2013 12:45 PM CDT

Aggressive Debt Collector Pays $3.2M Fine

Promises to stop calling people multiple times a day

(Newser) - It's a little solace perhaps for people besieged by phone calls morning, noon, and night by debt-collection firm Expert Global Solutions: The company agreed to pay the FTC a $3.2 million fine and ease up on the harassment of debtors, reports Reuters . It's the biggest such fine...

Time for Fine Print on Social Media Ads: FTC

The old advertising rules still apply

(Newser) - Just because an ad's on Twitter doesn't mean it can get away with being misleading. The FTC today unveiled new guidelines for social media advertising, saying that it must adhere to the same essential rules as traditional advertising. For instance, ads must make clear the fact that they...

Obama to Promote Edith Ramirez to Chair FTC

Move opens space for another Democrat on commission

(Newser) - President Obama will promote Federal Trade Commission member Edith Ramirez to chair the agency, a White House official tells Politico , opening the door for a third Democrat to join the commission. Ramirez has been at the FTC since 2010, and "has been instrumental in ensuring there is robust competition...

FTC Pushes Tougher Privacy Rules for Mobile Apps

Agency wants do-not-track feature for phones, tablets

(Newser) - The FTC says it's going to get tougher on mobile apps that invade user's online privacy. New agency guidelines call for a "do-not-track" feature on apps and software for phones and tablets, reports the New York Times . The FTC also fined the social networking app Path $800,...

Feds Clear Google of Search Bias

Company will make some voluntary changes to its practices

(Newser) - Google is resolving the FTC's antitrust probe into its business practices today after 19 months, the AP reports. As part of the settlement, Google will voluntarily license patents deemed "essential" to its rivals in the mobile phone industry, including Apple, Research in Motion, and Microsoft. The investigation was...

FTC Hangs Up on 'Rachel' Robocalls

Agency gets court to stop calls from fictional worker in 'cardholder services'

(Newser) - Poor Rachel. The FTC is clamping down on five telemarketing firms it says placed illegal robocalls, often claiming to be from a woman named "Rachel" who had an "important message" about high interest rates on credit cards, reports the Chicago Tribune . Yesterday, a federal court ordered a temporary...

FTC Tightening Web Privacy Rules for Kids

Biggest revamp in decade requires more consent from parents

(Newser) - A lot has changed online since 1998, when the FTC set up a privacy protection law for children online—and the federal organization believes it's time for an update. New rules expected within weeks would require companies to get parental consent for a wider range of data collection on...

POM Thumbs Nose at FTC, Celebrates Judge's Ruling

New ad campaign tests limits of agency: Washington Post

(Newser) - A judge this week criticized juice maker POM for making deceptive claims about the health benefits of its pomegranate juice. But you wouldn't know it from POM's reaction: It took out full-page ads celebrating certain parts of the ruling, asserting that the judge agreed that POM products "...

Own Skechers? You&#39;re Owed a Refund
Own Skechers? You're Owed
a Refund
May 16, 2012 10:46 AM CDT

Own Skechers? You're Owed a Refund

FTC: Shape-ups won't give you a body like Kim Kardashian's

(Newser) - The government wants you to know that simply sporting a pair of Skechers' fitness shoes is not going to get you Kim Kardashian's curves. Skechers will pay $40 million to settle charges by the FTC that the footwear company made unfounded claims that its $100 Shape-ups shoes (endorsed by...

FTC Inquiry May Delay Facebook's Instagram Deal

Second-quarter date sounds 'terrifically optimistic,' anti-trust lawyer says

(Newser) - Facebook and Instagram aren't likely to finish tying the knot by the second quarter as they'd originally intended, because the Federal Trade Commission has launched a competition probe into the deal. Investigators are already collecting information from competitors like Google and Twitter, sources tell the Financial Times . Competition...

4.5B Spam Texts Flooded Our Phones Last Year

Consumers fume, FTC files lawsuits

(Newser) - Getting spam on your cell phone? You're not alone: Spam text messages in the US soared 45% to 4.5 billion last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "I don't even get that much junk mail in my Gmail account," says a journalist in Washington, DC....

Facebook Settles Privacy Case With FTC

It agrees to independent audits for 20 years

(Newser) - Facebook is settling with the FTC over charges it deceived consumers with its privacy settings to get people to share more personal information than they originally agreed to. The charges go back to at least 2009, when Facebook changed its privacy settings so that information users may have deemed private,...

FTC May Require Facebook Privacy Features Be Opt-In

Settlement also reportedly calls for 20 years of privacy audits

(Newser) - Facebook and the FTC are apparently near a settlement over allegations that the social network misled users when it altered privacy settings in 2009. Under the settlement, Facebook would need “express affirmative consent” to make “material retroactive changes,” insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . Translation from Business ...

Reebok to Refund $25M for Bogus Toning Shoes

In order to settle FTC's false advertising complaint

(Newser) - Reebok has agreed to dole out up to $25 million in refunds for people who bought its EasyTone and RunTone shoes, in the mistaken belief that they’d actually help them tone their lower body as advertised. The move settles an FTC complaint that Reebok’s various claims about the...

Google Hires Army of Lobbyists, Also Eyes Hulu

It lines up 12 companies ahead of possible antitrust suit

(Newser) - Busy times for Google, even beyond its social networking push :
  • Lobbyist blitz: The company is apparently taking a potential antitrust investigation by the FTC very seriously, reports the Hill : Google is hiring no fewer than 12 top lobbying firms to make its case to lawmakers. “We have a strong
...

Google Faces FTC Antitrust Investigation

Tech giant to receive subpoenas this week

(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission will send Google subpoenas this week as it begins an antitrust probe into the search king. Officials are investigating whether the firm has taken unfair advantage of its leading position in the tech landscape. It’s the weightiest US investigation the company has thus faced: While...

Mark Bittman: FTC Junk Food Rules Not Tough Enough
 We Need Junk Food Laws, Not Suggestions
MARK BITTMAN
May 4, 2011 1:51 PM CDT

We Need Junk Food Laws, Not Suggestions

We need laws, not suggestions, argues Mark Bittman

(Newser) - The FTC’s new guidelines against marketing junk food to kids don’t go nearly far enough for Mark Bittman. “Instead of announcing, ‘We have guidelines you must follow,” the New York Times writer complains, “the FTC said, in effect, ‘We have voluntary guidelines we...

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