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The Federal Trade Commission recently released its preliminary report on two studies it conducted to help understand the effectiveness of class action settlement notices and to “develop information to help improve settlement outcomes for consumers.”  The report shows that claims rates, regardless of the form of notice, are very low and that some of the…

The CFPB announced that it will host a public workshop with the FTC on December 10, 2019 to discuss issues affecting the accuracy of both traditional credit reports and employment and tenant background screening reports.

According to the announcement, the workshop “seeks to bring together stakeholders – including industry representatives, consumer advocates, and regulators –…

Two recent Circuit Court opinions have significantly undermined the FTC’s powers under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA).  These pivotal decisions may ultimately require the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify Section 13(b)’s boundaries.

First, in FTC v. Shire Viropharma, Inc., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that in order to…

Just two days after the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a historic settlement of privacy and security claims against Equifax, the FTC today announced that Facebook has agreed to pay $5 billion in civil fines, arising from its violation of a 2012 consent order with the FTC.  According to the FTC, this is the largest…

The Consumer Education Foundation, a California-based nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, has filed a petition with the FTC asking it to investigate the use of “secret surveillance scores” in the U.S. marketplace.

Such scores are claimed to be the product of analytics companies that “amass thousands or even tens of thousands of demographic and lifestyle data…

The FTC has issued a final rule to implement a 2018 amendment to the FCRA made by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act that requires nationwide consumer reporting agencies  (CRAs) to provide free electronic credit monitoring service for active duty military consumers.  The rule will be effective 30 days after its publication…

The Federal Trade Commission recently provided its annual letter to the CFPB concerning its enforcement activities relating to compliance with Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act), Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act), and Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act).  Under Dodd-Frank, the FTC retained its authority to enforce these regulations with respect to entities subject to…

The FTC has launched a dedicated FinTech page on its website where it has assembled FinTech-related materials.

The materials that can be accessed on the new page include Guidance (which consists of various FTC publications), Videos (which include excerpts from FTC workshops), Related Posts (which address ongoing FTC developments), and Legal Resources (which include staff…

The FTC has released the final agenda for its June 11, 2019 workshop that will examine consumer protection issues related to the online event ticket marketplace.

The day-long workshop will feature four panel discussions.  The morning sessions will focus on ticket bots, the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act), and consumer protection issues around…

On Wednesday, May 8, the Federal Trade Commission hosted a special forum exploring small business lending practices, regulations, and policies. The forum consisted of three panels: (1) Overview of the Small Business Financing Marketplace, (2) Case Study on Merchant Cash Advances, and (3) Consumer Protection Risks and the Path Ahead, along with the opening remarks…