FTC To Host International Conference on Empowering Consumers in E-Commerce; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Locke, OECD Secretary-General Gurra, U.S. OECD Ambassador Kornbluh to be Featured Speakers

The Federal Trade Commission will host more than 250 government officials, business leaders, consumer advocates, and academics from around the world to discuss opportunities and challenges for consumers in electronic commerce at a conference organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) December 8-10, 2009. The event, Empowering E-consumers: Strengthening Consumer Protection in […]

FTC Announces Senior Staff Appointments

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz has announced the appointments of Cecelia Prewett as Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Jessica Rich and Charles Harwood as Deputy Directors in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Norm Armstrong, Jr. as Deputy Director in the Bureau of Competition. “We are very fortunate to have these longtime […]

Court Orders Australia-based Leader of International Spam Network to Pay $15.15 Million

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has ordered the mastermind of a vast international spam network to pay $15.15 million in a default judgment for his role in what was identified by the anti-spam organization Spamhaus as the largest “spam gang” in the world. The spam gang deceptively marketed products […]

FTC Workshop Begins Tomorrow: “From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?”

WHAT: The Federal Trade Commission will hold a two-day workshop to explore how the Internet has affected journalism, with representatives from print, online, broadcast, and cable news organizations; academics; consumer advocates; bloggers; and others involved in new media. Participants include the Honorable Henry A. Waxman, Chairman, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and […]

FTC Order Preserves Competition Lost Through SCI’s Acquisition of Palm Mortuary

Service Corporation International (SCI), the nation’s largest cemetery operator and the third-largest provider of cemetery services in Las Vegas, Nevada, must sell a cemetery and funeral home in Las Vegas to complete its proposed acquisition of local rival Palm Mortuary, Inc. (Palm), the Federal Trade Commission announced today. The consent order detailing the requirements resolves […]

FTC Order Sets Conditions for Panasonic’s Acquisition of Sanyo

Major consumer electronics manufacturers Panasonic Corporation and Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. have agreed to sell assets related to Sanyo’s portable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery business, including a premier manufacturing plant in Japan, as part of an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that will preserve competition and allow the companies to proceed with Panasonic’s […]

Federal and State Agencies Target Mortgage Relief Scams

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, joined by U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, and Assistant Attorney General Tony West of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, today announced Operation Stolen Hope as part of a continuing federal-state crackdown on mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams. The […]

FTC Announces Agenda for December 15 Forum to Explore Food Marketing to Children

The Federal Trade Commission announced the agenda and speakers for its December 15, 2009 public forum titled “Sizing Up Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity.” The forum participants will present new research on the impact of various food advertising techniques on children and discuss the statutory and constitutional issues surrounding governmental regulation of food marketing. Panelists […]

FTC Extends Public Comment Period in Free Credit Report Rule Proceeding To December 7, 2009

For Release November 20, 2009 The Commission today announced an extension of the public comment period for the recently issued proposal to amend the “Free Credit Report Rule” (formally the Free Annual File Disclosures Rule). The Commission posted the proposed rule on the FTC’s Web site on October 7, 2009, and stated that public comments […]

FTC Settlements Bar Deceptive Online Marketing of “Free” Internet Auction Kits

An online marketer of purportedly “free” Internet auction kits, which automatically charged unwitting consumers $59.95 a month for enrollment in an “online supplier” program for Internet auctions, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its actions violated federal law. The separate proposed court settlements with the company and two of its former executives […]