Starting next month, the Federal Trade Commission will host a series of roundtables around the country to gather information on consumers’ experiences when buying or leasing motor vehicles. The roundtables will explore consumer protection issues related to the sale, financing, and leasing of the consumer vehicles consumers most often use – cars, SUVs, and light […]
Monthly Archives: March 2011
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Information Requests to Alcohol Beverage Manufacturers
The Federal Trade Commission plans to begin a study of the self-regulatory efforts of the alcoholic beverage industry. This will serve as the basis for the FTC’s fourth major report on the effectiveness of voluntary industry guidelines for reducing advertising and marketing to underage audiences by beer, wine, and distilled spirits manufacturers. The first report […]
FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Complaints in 2010 Identity Theft Tops the List Again
The Federal Trade Commission today released the list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2010. The list showed that for the 11th year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category. Of 1,339,265 complaints received in 2010, 250,854 – or 19 percent – were related to identity theft. […]
FTC Charges Mortgage Relief Operation with Deceiving Distressed Homeowners
As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s continuing crackdown on scams that target homeowners behind in their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure, the FTC has charged a national operation with marketing bogus loan modification services. The FTC seeks to stop the illegal practices and make the defendants pay refunds to consumers. According to the FTC’s […]
FTC Report Recommends Improvements in Patent System to Promote Innovation and Benefit Consumers
A new Federal Trade Commission report recommends improvements to two areas of patent law: policies affecting how well a patent gives notice to the public of what technology is protected and remedies for patent infringement. The report, The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition, emphasizes that the patent system and competition […]
FTC Staff Submits Comments to FERC on More Efficient Ways To Integrate Alternative Energy Sources Into the Nations Power Generation System
The Federal Trade Commission’s staff submitted a comment as part of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rulemaking on the integration of alternative sources of energy – such as wind farms, solar cells, and solar thermal installations – into the nation’s electric power grid. The staff comment suggested ways to integrate such alternative sources into […]
National Consumer Protection Week 2011 Kicks Off Sunday March 6
The Federal Trade Commission and nearly 30 other federal agencies, consumer groups and national advocacy organizations, in conjunction with state, county, and local government agencies, will hold more than 120 events in 25 states and the District of Columbia during National Consumer Protection Week, March 6-12, 2011. National Consumer Protection Week is a coordinated campaign […]
Statement by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Regarding Court Ruling on Red Flags Rule
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today issued its opinion and judgment in the matter of American Bar Association v. FTC. The Court held that, in light of the recent amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the ABA’s challenge to the FTC Red Flags Rule is moot. The […]
FTC Steps Up Efforts Against Scams That Target Financially-Strapped Consumers
The Federal Trade Commission today stepped up its ongoing campaign against scammers who falsely promise guaranteed jobs and opportunities to “be your own boss” to consumers who are struggling with unemployment and diminished incomes as a consequence of the economic downturn. “Operation Empty Promises,” a multi-agency law enforcement initiative today announced more than 90 enforcement […]
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Tested Green Environmental Certifications Were Neither Tested, Nor Green
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission approved a final order resolving allegations that a Washington, DC-based firm, Tested Green, sold environmental certifications to businesses in exchange for money and not based on their environmental attributes; and misrepresented that its certifications were endorsed by two independent associations, which were actually owned and operated […]