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FTC Releases 2018 Enforcement Highlights

The Federal Trade Commission Chairman recently released its 2018 consumer protection and competition “Annual Highlights.” The FTC’s Highlights report describes some of the agency’s most notable enforcement actions, policy and advocacy initiatives, and education and outreach programs in the past year. A handful of enforcement actions of interest are highlighted below. Enforcement Stopping false and

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BREAKING NEWS: Second Circuit Chimes in on Nutraceutical Claim Substantiation

The Second Circuit recently breathed life back into a lawsuit about the adequacy of data used to support cognitive enhancement claims.  Specifically, the court vacated a previous Southern District of New York dismissal of an FTC complaint alleging that Quincy Bioscience advertised the memory supplement “Prevagen” without a reasonable basis

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New York Attorney General Announces Record COPPA Settlement

The New York Attorney General has announced a record settlement with Oath, Inc., formerly known as AOL, for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.  Oath Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verizon Communications Inc. Until June 2017, Oath was known as AOL Inc. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection

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Senate Proposes Federal Privacy Legislation That Would Impose Criminal Penalties

Calendar year 2018 has been unprecedented in terms of international and domestic privacy legislation.  From the European Union General Data Protection Regulation to states’ enactment of more restrictive data privacy laws, and from Federal Trade Commission actions to the fake news scandals, companies are expending significant resources on compliance. There has

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FTC Halts Stem Cell Claims

A California-based physician and the companies that he controls have settled charges by the Federal Trade Commission that “amniotic stem cell therapy” can treat serious diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, autism, macular degeneration, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and heart attacks. As set forth in the complaint, the defendants earned millions of

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National Advertising Division on Comparative Advertising + “Best” Claims

The National Advertising Division frequently addresses issues pertaining to comparative advertising and “best” claims.  Most recently, the NAD ruled that Mahindra USA, Inc. could not claim its products were superior without being able to substantiate representations via reasonable evidence. Here, Deere & Company, Inc. challenged Mahindra’s superiority advertisements that included “best”-type

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Federal Bills Introduced Regarding Marijuana Use and Related Business Activities

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently introduced the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, legislation attempting to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.  If passed, the bill would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances and provide states with the ability to implement their own marijuana laws. The Controlled Substances Act

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