FTC Puts Conditions on Pharmaceutical Joint Venture Between GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis

Global pharmaceutical company Novartis AG has agreed to divest Habitrol, its nicotine replacement therapy patch, to settle FTC charges that its consumer health care products joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) would likely be anticompetitive. GSK currently sells its own nicotine replacement patch, Nicoderm CQ. London-based GSK and Switzerland-based Novartis each manufacture and market a range […]

FTC Puts Conditions on Medtronic’s Proposed Acquisition of Covidien

Global medical technology company Medtronic, Inc. has agreed to divest the drug-coated balloon catheter business of Ireland-based medical products company Covidien plc, in order to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its $42.9 billion acquisition of Covidien would likely be anticompetitive. Under the FTC’s proposed settlement, Medtronic will sell the drug-coated balloon catheter business to […]

Sony Computer Entertainment America To Provide Consumer Refunds To Settle FTC Charges Over Misleading Ads For PlayStation Vita Gaming Console

Note: A conference call for media with FTC Western Region Director Tom Dahdouh will occur as follows: Date: November 25, 2014Time: 1:00 p.m. ET; 10:00 a.m. PT Call-in lines, which are for media only, will open 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Director Dahdouh and FTC staff will be available to take […]

FDIC Announces Upcoming Community Affairs Webinar:

FIL-58-2014 November 25, 2014 FDIC Announces Upcoming Community Affairs Webinar: Helping Your Customers Save: America Saves Week 2015   Summary: The FDIC’s Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection (DCP) Community Affairs Branch will host a webinar titled Helping Your Customers Save: America Saves Week 2015 on December 12, 2014, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. […]

Assessments

FIL-57-2014 November 24, 2014 Assessments Final Rule Printable Format: FIL-57-2014 – PDF (PDF Help) Summary: On November 18, 2014, the FDIC Board of Directors adopted the Assessments Final Rule. The Final Rule revises the FDIC’s risk-based deposit insurance assessment system to reflect changes in the regulatory capital rules that go into effect in 2015 and […]

FTC Concludes Review of AgeCheq’s Initial Proposed COPPA Verifiable Parental Consent Method

Following a public comment period and review of AgeCheq, Inc.’s initial proposed Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule verifiable parental consent method, the Federal Trade Commission has denied the company’s application.  In its application, AgeCheq proposed a real-time common consent mechanism, which conducts identity verification in two ways. The first method of verifying parental identity […]

FTC Halts Advance Fee Recovery Scheme Targeting Victims of Timeshare Resale and Investment Scams

The defendants in a federal court action brought by the FTC have agreed to stop operating an advance fee recovery scheme for the duration of the on-going litigation. The FTC seeks to permanently stop the operation, which in the past year took close to $1.3 million from consumers, many of them elderly people who had […]

FTC Seeks Comments on Additional Proposed Changes to Used Car Rule

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking supplemental public comments on proposed changes to the agency’s Used Car Rule and the Used Car Buyers Guide that the Rule requires dealers to display. The Commission is not adopting any final amendments to the Rule at this time. The Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule, in effect since […]

Guidance Related to the FDIC Statement of Policy on Applications for Deposit Insurance

FIL-56-2014 November 20, 2014 Guidance Related to the FDIC Statement of Policy on Applications for Deposit Insurance Printable Format: FIL-56-2014 – PDF (PDF Help) Summary: The FDIC is issuing guidance in the form of “Questions and Answers” or “Q&As” to aid applicants in developing proposals for deposit insurance and to provide transparency to the application […]

FTC, Illinois, and Ohio Stop Scheme That Offered ‘Free’ Credit Scores, Then Charged Consumers for Credit Monitoring Programs They Never Ordered

The Federal Trade Commission has stopped an online scheme that allegedly lured consumers with “free” access to their credit scores and then billed them a recurring fee of $29.95 per month for a credit monitoring program they never ordered. The three companies have agreed to pay $22 million for consumer refunds under a settlement with […]