Operators of Online “Virtual Worlds” to Pay $3 Million to Settle FTC Charges That They Illegally Collected and Disclosed Children’s Personal Information

The operators of 20 online virtual worlds have agreed to pay $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule by illegally collecting and disclosing personal information from hundreds of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents’ prior consent. This settlement is the largest civil […]

FTC Staff: Proposed Texas Legislation Likely Would Benefit Health Care Consumers; Would Allow Expanded Patient Care by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses

Federal Trade Commission staff, in response to a request from Texas State Senators Rodney Ellis and Royce West, opined that Texas health care consumers would benefit from proposals in the Texas State Legislature that would allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to practice to the full extent of their education and training. The FTC staff […]

FTC Will Record and Post for Viewing May 11 Cramming Workshop

The FTC will host a workshop on May 11, 2011, in Washington, DC, examining how the government, businesses, and consumer protection organizations can work together to prevent consumers from being hit with unauthorized third-party charges on their phone bills, a practice known as “cramming.” The workshop will be held at the FTC Conference Center, 601 […]

FTC Recovers Properties, Precious Metals, and other Assets in Case Involving Purported Work-at-Home and Mystery Shopping Opportunities

Marketers who targeted financially strapped Americans by selling a variety of supposed work-at-home and other money-making opportunities will give up their ill-gotten gains under a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.  The FTC’s complaint against the defendants was part of a broader crackdown in 2010 on work-at-home scams called “Operation Bottom Dollar,” which resulted […]

FTC Testifies on Protecting Consumers’ Privacy on Mobile Devices

The Federal Trade Commission today told Congress that “the Commission is committed to protecting consumers’ privacy in the mobile sphere” by bringing enforcement actions where appropriate and “by working with industry and consumer groups to develop workable solutions that protect consumers while allowing innovation in this growing marketplace.” In Commission testimony before the Senate Judiciary […]

FTC Staff Finds Sanofi-Aventis, Watson Pharmaceuticals, and Synthon Holding B.V. Failed to Report Drug Patent Agreements as Required by Law

The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition has notified Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Synthon Holding B.V., that it believes the companies violated federal law by failing to inform antitrust authorities about drug patent agreements involving Sanofi’s insomnia drug Ambien CR. However, the FTC staff told the companies that it decided not to […]

Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children To Hold Forum for Comment on Proposed Voluntary Principles on May 24

The Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month released for public comment a set of proposed voluntary principles for use by industry as a guide for marketing food to children.  The four agencies’ Interagency Working Group, will host a […]

FTC Settlement Order Bars Texas Doctors’ Group from Joint Price Negotiations

An association representing 900 physicians in the Amarillo, Texas, area has agreed to a Federal Trade Commission order barring it from jointly negotiating the prices it charges insurance providers. The FTC alleged in a complaint filed with the order that the association, Southwest Health Alliances, Inc., d/b/a BSA Provider Network, has violated federal law since […]

FTC to Host Public Forum on Competition Issues in Standard-Setting

The Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop on June 21, 2011, in Washington, D.C., as part of a project to examine the legal and policy issues surrounding the competition problem of “hold-up” when patented technologies are included in collaborative standards. The workshop will be free and open to the public. When industry-wide standards […]

FTC Charges Utah Operation with Deceptive and Abusive Telemarketing

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice today filed a complaint that charges three Utah-based firms and their owner with waging deceptive and illegal telemarketing campaigns pitching movies and soliciting for donations, including calls to more than 16 million phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC […]