FTC Puts An End to Data Broker Operation that Helped Scam More Than $7 Million from Consumers’ Accounts

The Federal Trade Commission has closed the book on a data broker operation that the agency alleges got personal information from people who thought they were applying for payday loans online, and sold it to a scam that tapped consumers’ bank accounts and credit cards without their consent. A stipulated order against Jason A. Kotzker […]

Debt Relief Defendants Agree to Telemarketing and Financial Services Ban and Payment Processors Agree to Payment Processing Ban to Settle FTC Action

A group of defendants who falsely promised to reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates will be banned from telemarketing and from selling debt relief services, and the payment processors who enabled them to bilk more than $12 million from consumers will be banned from the payment processing industry under settlements with the Federal Trade Commission […]

FTC Staff Comment: Proposal to Expand Access to Telehealth Services Could Benefit Delaware Speech and Hearing Patients

Federal Trade Commission staff submitted a comment to the Delaware Board of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers on its proposed regulation that would allow telepractice in those fields but require an initial in-person evaluation. Responding to the Board’s request for public comments, Staff of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning and its Bureaus […]

FTC Issues Annual Report On Ethanol Market Concentration

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its 2016 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration, an annual report required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 “to determine whether there is sufficient competition among industry participants to avoid price-setting and other anticompetitive behavior.” As in prior years, the 2016 report concludes that “the low level of concentration […]

FTC Grants Partial Exemption to Fuel Rating Rule Labeling Requirements

The Federal Trade Commission has granted Gilbarco Inc. and other ethanol flex fuel retailers a partial exemption to its Fuel Rating Rule labeling requirements. Specifically, the exemption permits retailers to reduce slightly the required label size when disclosing the ethanol content of ethanol flex fuels on the fuel selection buttons on retail pumps. Gilbarco, a […]

FTC and Department of Justice Submit Comment to FERC on Need for Careful Market Power Analysis of Electricity Markets

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division have submitted a comment to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding market power in wholesale electricity markets. The comment responds to a FERC request for comments on how it assesses market power with respect to mergers and electricity sales at market-based rates, […]

FTC Staff Provides Public Comment and Testimony in Tennessee Opposing Certificate of Public Advantage Application

The Federal Trade Commission staff submitted a comment to the Tennessee Department of Health that opposes issuing a certificate of public advantage (COPA) to Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System. If approved, the COPA could allow the merger of Mountain States and Wellmont, the two largest healthcare systems in northeast Tennessee and southwest […]

FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Comments on NHTSA’s Federal Automated Vehicle Policy

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich filed a comment today with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding its request for comments on proposed industry guidance for highly automated vehicles: Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. In her comment, Rich commends NHTSA for its “thoughtful consideration of the emerging issues presented by innovative […]

Banker Teleconference Series:

FIL-77-2016 November 22, 2016 Banker Teleconference Series: Webinar on Recently Revised Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment Summary: The FDIC will co-host an interagency webinar scheduled for November 29, 2016, that will focus on the recently revised Interagency Questions and Answers regarding Community Reinvestment. Community organizations are also invited to participate. The session is […]

FTC Approves Final Order Requiring Warner Bros. to Disclose Payments to Online Influencers

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc., settling charges that the company failed to adequately disclose that it paid online influencers to post gameplay videos. According to the FTC’s complaint, announced in July 2016, Warner Bros. deceived consumers during a marketing […]