Updates November 24 – December 5, 2025

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Bureau of Competition; Competition; Nonmerger; Noncompete

• The FTC finalized a consent order requiring Gateway Services, Inc. and its subsidiary, Gateway US Holdings, Inc. (collectively "Gateway") to stop entering into or enforcing noncompete agreements on their employees. The order followed the FTC's September 2025 complaint, which alleged that Gateway's noncompete agreements were anticompetitive and suppressed competition. Previously, these agreements prohibited Gateway employees from working in the pet cremation industry anywhere in the United States for one year after leaving the company. Under the consent order, Gateway must stop enforcing its existing noncompete agreements and is prohibited from entering into similar agreements in the future.

Monday, December 1, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection; Education; Privacy and Security; Data Security

• The FTC announced a proposed consent agreement with Illuminate Education, Inc., an education technology provider, that will require Illuminate to implement a data security program and delete unnecessary data. The FTC's complaint alleged Illuminate failed to deploy reasonable measures to protect student data stored in cloud-based databases when in late December 2021, a hacker using the credentials of a former employee gained access to personal data of 10.1 million students. According to the FTC's press release, Illuminate failed to resolve known security vulnerabilities, did not timely notify affected school districts, and misrepresented its data protection standards to customers and the public, which the FTC claims violated Section 5 of the FTC Act. The agreement requires Illuminate to implement a comprehensive security program, adhere to a public data retention schedule, delete unnecessary data, and improve breach notification processes; while no monetary relief is imposed initially, future violations of the order may result in civil penalties.

Bureau of Consumer Protection

• The FTC issued its annual report on protecting older adults to Congress, reflecting a significant increase in the number of older adults reporting losses of over $100,000 due to scams. The FTC's report highlights that total fraud losses reported by consumers aged 60 and over rose from $600 million in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2024. The report outlines losses by scam type with investment scams through social media being prevalent, and details outreach efforts, including education campaigns such as Pass It On and work led by the FTC's Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group. While older adults tend to report higher individual losses, the report also indicates they lose money to fraud at a lower overall rate than younger consumers. The FTC's findings are based on data from its Consumer Sentinel Network and the report is authorized under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection; Deceptive or Misleading Conduct; Consumer Refunds; Privacy and Security; Consumer Privacy

• The FTC is sending payments to consumers who were impacted by Avast's alleged deceptive privacy practices totaling nearly $15.3 million. In February 2025, the FTC alleged that Avast collected and sold users' browser activity through its antivirus software and browser extensions without consumer consent, despite marketing claims that its software would protect consumer privacy and block third-party tracking. FTC alleged Avast violated Section 5 of the FTC Act through deceptive marketing and failing to adequately inform consumers that it would sell their detailed, re-identifiable browsing data. As part of the settlement in 2024, Avast was required to provide monetary relief to consumers and is prohibited from selling or licensing web browsing data for advertising. The FTC is presently distributing cash to Avast customers who filed a valid claim.

Bureau of Consumer Protection; Deceptive or Misleading Conduct; Real Estate and Mortgages; Advertising and Marketing; Online Advertising and Marketing; Advertising and Marketing Basics

• Greystar, the nation's largest manager of multi-family rental properties, agreed to pay $24 million and revise its advertising in response to FTC and State of Colorado allegations that it misrepresented the true cost of renting by listing deceptively low prices and failing to disclose mandatory monthly fees. According to the FTC's press release, the complaint alleged violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The proposed settlement requires Greystar to provide $23 million in refunds to affected consumers and $1 million to Colorado, to clearly and conspicuously disclose the total monthly lease price and all mandatory fees, and to refrain from misrepresenting fees or pricing in future advertising.

Bureau of Competition; Consumer Protection; Competition; Office of Policy Planning

• FTC staff endorsed a proposed amendment that would eliminate the American Bar Association's (ABA) authority to set law school accreditation requirements for bar admission in Texas. The directors of the FTC's Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition submitted a letter to the Texas Supreme Court raising anti-competitive concerns of giving the ABA the ability to restrict entry into the legal profession. The letter states that the ABA is an association of practicing lawyers, most of whom have a strong interest in limiting competition for legal services, and that the current rule likely prevents many potentially qualified lawyers from providing legal services to the Texas public. The FTC concluded that the proposed amendment would benefit prospective law students and consumers of legal services and encouraged other states to consider similar reforms.

Wednesday, December 3

Bureau of Consumer Protection; Health; Weight Loss; Advertising and Marketing; Endorsements; Influencers, and Reviews; Health Claims; Advertising and Marketing Basics

• The FTC finalized an order against NextMed, a telehealth provider, and its principals for allegedly deceptive marketing of prescription GLP-1 weight-loss programs. In its July 2025 complaint, the FTC accused NextMed of violating Section 5 of the FTC Act by making unsubstantiated claims about weight loss results, using fabricated testimonials, manipulating consumer reviews, and failing to provide clear disclosures of costs and cancellation policies. The FTC also alleged the company processed recurring charges without proper consent and delayed refund and cancellation requests. Under the settlement, NextMed and its owners must pay $150,000 for consumer refunds, are required to support advertising claims with credible evidence, cease manipulating consumer reviews, prominently disclose all mandatory fees and key terms, obtain informed consent before billing, and promptly honor cancellation requests. The stipulated order also prohibits further misrepresentations regarding cost, weight loss outcomes, and the authenticity of endorsements.

Friday, December 5

Bureau of Competition; Merger; Health Care; Hospitals and Clinics

• Aya Healthcare withdrew its proposed acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare after FTC staff identified concerns about competitive harm in the market for software and service providers used by hospitals to manage traveling nurses and temporary healthcare workers. The agency indicated the merger would have reduced head-to-head competition among major providers, potentially limiting choices for healthcare workers, increasing costs for hospitals, and raising healthcare expenses for patients.

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