When the FTC decides not to pursue an investigation, it often issues a short closing letter to the company explaining why FTC staff decided not to recommend enforcement. The letters are just a few paragraphs long and don’t contain a lot of details, but if you read between the lines, you can often get some
New Court Decision Address Manipulation of Reviews
Because consumer reviews are so important in today’s marketplace, many companies go to great lengths to increase their number of favorable reviews. Sometimes, they go too far. We’ve written about FTC and NAD cases in which companies incentivized reviews without proper disclosures and even about cases in which companies solicited fake reviews. (Click here,
NAD Addresses When Companies may be Liable for Consumer Reviews
This is not another post about coronavirus claims, but we do need to start there.
Truvani makes a dietary supplement that was formerly called “Under the Weather.” The company’s webpage devoted to that supplement featured reviews from various users, including the following:
- Michael K. (Verified Buyer): “Very happy with the product, I feel BC so
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Endorsement Guides
This morning, the FTC announced that it is seeking public comment on whether to make changes to its Endorsement Guides as part of the agency’s systematic review of all current rules and guides. The Guides were first enacted in 1980, and updated in 2009 to more directly address social media. Among other things, the Guides
New FTC Settlement Targets Fake Ratings and Reviews
Yesterday, the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with LendEDU and three of its officers over misleading ratings and reviews.
LendEDU runs a website that compares student loans and other financial products. Although they advertised that the ratings are on the site are “completely objective and not influenced by compensation,” the FTC argued
FTC Announces Settlement Over Fake Reviews
This week, the FTC announced a settlement with Sunday Riley Modern Skincare and its CEO, Sunday Riley, over allegations that company managers and employees posted fake reviews on Sephora.com.
The FTC alleged that company managers, including Ms. Riley herself, posted reviews of the company’s products on Sephora.com, and asked other employees do the same. When
New NAD Decision Addresses Incentivized Reviews
NAD recently announced a decision involving Pyle Audio’s campaign to generate reviews for its NutriChef brand vacuum sealers. When consumers received their products, they would find a card promising them two rolls of vacuum sealing bags in exchange for leaving a review on Amazon.com. Near that promise, the card included the words “love this” and
NAD Doesn’t Trust Trustpilot Reviews
If a review site ranks your product as the top in a category, can you advertise that you’re “number 1” in that category? Not necessarily. A recent NAD decision explains why.
A competitor challenged TaxSlayer’s claim that it was “#1 Rated in the Tax Prep Software Category on Trustpilot.” NAD started its decision with a
FTC Settles with Companies that Sought to Prevent Bad Reviews
The Consumer Review Fairness Act was enacted in 2016 to protect consumers’ ability to share their opinions about 
businesses. In general, the law prohibits companies from using form contracts that: (a) prohibit or restrict consumers from reviewing a business’ goods, services, or conduct; (b) impose penalties or fees on consumers for those reviews; or (c)
FTC Settlement Addresses Free Trials and Incentivized Reviews
This week, the FTC announced a settlement with UrthBox and its president that addresses two topics that we frequently cover on this blog: (1) free trials; and (2) incentivized reviews.
Free Trial
The FTC alleged that Urthbox offered a “free” trial of its snack boxes for a nominal shipping and handling fee. 
For some consumers,