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Mobile marketing, sweepstakes and services, including location-based services, are governed by an alphabet soup of statutes and regulations: TCPA, COPPA, CAN-SPAM, CPNI, etc. To complicate compliance even further, numerous class action lawsuits in state and federal courts have addressed issues and nuances that the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and state regulatory agencies or…

Over the past year, several companies have entered into high-profile settlements with the FTC over allegations that their products didn’t work as advertised. For example, Skechers agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges that it made unsubstantiated claims about its toning shoes. Although the terms of those settlements provide valuable insights for all advertisers…

The NAD reviewed weight-loss success stories on Nutrisystem’s Pinterest board, and determined that the weight-loss claims featured atypical results. As we’ve posted before, the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines state that if an endorser’s experience does not reflect what consumers will generally achieve, the ad “should clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance in the depicted circumstances.&rdquo…

Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held an information gathering workshop titled “In Short: Advertising and Privacy Disclosures in a Digital World”. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the need for updated guidance for web and mobile advertisers regarding disclosures and privacy practices. FTC issued the current guidance, known as…

On May 8, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its settlement with social networking service Myspace on charges that it misrepresented its protection of users’ personal information in violation of federal law. Like many of its social media counterparts who were recently the target of FTC enforcement actions, Myspace is charged with espousing strict…

This five-minute video from the Bloomberg BNA Internet Law Resource Center provides an overview of some of the legal issues companies should consider before they engage in social media. Kelley Drye partner Gonzalo E. Mon discusses the FTC’s view of consumer endorsements, how companies can avoid liability for user-generated content, and options for structuring contests.

Although Pinterest launched just two years ago, the site already boasts over 10 million users and a staggering number of page views every day. Both numbers are growing quickly. Companies are paying attention to this rapid growth and — much like the early days of Facebook — many are wondering whether it makes sense to…