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AGs Focus on Transparent Fees
In late November, the Pennsylvania AG's office announced a settlement with Grubhub. In its
action, the AG alleged among other claims that Grubhub's
platform did not clearly disclose to consumers that they were
sometimes charged higher prices for items ordered through the
platform compared to ordering from the restaurant directly.
Attorney General Shapiro settled for $125,000 in food bank
donations and changes to its practices.
NAD Reviews Blue Apron's Easy Cancelation Claims
Programs that automatically renew have been under a lot of
scrutiny lately. Although the focus of scrutiny has often been on
how people sign up, both regulators and plaintiffs' attorneys
have also been paying attention to how people cancel. (Click here and here, for example.) A recent decision from the
NAD shows that they're paying attention, too.
NAD Takes Strict View of Green Claims
In recent months, companies have scored some notable victories
in lawsuits involving various types of green claims, including carbon emission claims, aspirational claims, and recyclability claims. As we noted in some of
those posts, the decisions may have turned out differently if the
cases had been heard by NAD. A new decision in a challenge that NAD
initiated against various claims made by the American Beverage
Association (or "ABA") shows how strictly NAD reviews
these types of claims.
FTC and States Settle with Google and iHeartMedia Over Misleading Endorsements
In January, we reported that the Texas Attorney General had
filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that the company engaged
iHeartMedia DJs to provide endorsements for its Pixel 4 phone, even
though they had never used it. This week, the FTC and several state
attorneys general announced settlements with Google and iHeartMedia
over the same conduct. The complaints provide more insights into
what may have happened behind the scenes.
Hurried Woman Sues Over Cook Time Instructions
Time is money, and when you're hungry for mac-and-cheese, a
few seconds can be worth millions of dollars. Or at least
that's what a Florida woman suggests in her class action
lawsuit against Kraft Heinz over a claim on single-serve cups of
Velveeta Shells & Cheese stating that the product can be
"ready in 31/2 minutes."
NAD Worries Consumers May Take Megan Thee Stallion Too Seriously
Imagine that Megan Thee Stallion told you that by investing as
little as $1 in Bitcoin, with her knowledge and your hustle,
"you'll have your own empire in no time." Would you
think that $1 is all you need to amass a fortune? No, I
wouldn't either. What if Megan was stacking shiny bars of gold
while she told you that? I still wouldn't be convinced, but if
you're on the fence, NAD is looking out for you in a recent
decision involving an ad for Cash App.
Coca-Cola Scores Second Win over Green Claims in One Month
This month, the DC Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Earth Island
Institute against Coca-Cola, alleging that the company falsely
represents itself as "a sustainable and environmentally
friendly company, despite being one of the largest contributors of
plastic pollution in the world." The court held that many of
the challenged statements are aspirational and do not include
anything that can be measured to determine whether they are true or
false.
Thirsty World Cup Fans Serve Up Reminder About Sponsorship Agreements
This week, the World Cup kicked off amidst cheers and chants
from the fans who had made their way to Qatar to watch the games.
Although most fans chanted in support of their teams, Ecuadorean
fans in one section of Al Bayt Stadium had a different message:
"Queremos cerveza, queremos cerveza."
They want beer. Sadly for them, there is no beer to be had after
the government in Qatar made a last-minute decision to ban sales at
all World Cup stadiums.
The FTC's Proposed Impersonation Scam Rule – Not as Straightforward as it Looks
Since Lina Khan took the reins of the FTC, the agency has
launched five new rulemakings under its Section 18
("Mag-Moss") authority – specifically, rules to
combat government and business impersonation scams,
deceptive earnings claims, "commercial surveillance," deceptive endorsements, and "junk fees." (I'm excluding here
revisions to existing Mag-Moss rules, as well as rulemakings under
other statutory authority.) While much has been written about how
long Mag-Moss rulemakings generally take to complete (including by
us, here), at least one of these rulemakings is
proceeding apace – the first one, involving impersonation
scams.
NAAG Consumer Protection Meeting: State Attorneys General 2022 Year in Review
Earlier this month at the 2022 NAAG Consumer Protection Fall
Conference panelists including current and former AG personnel
discussed recent consumer protection legislation and rulemakings
that have been implemented or proposed, as well as recent court
actions affecting consumer protection laws to provide AGs and staff
a year in review.
Colorado's AG Office Kicks Off CPA Rulemaking Meetings
On Thursday, November 10th, the Colorado Attorney General's
Office held the first of three stakeholder meetings on its Colorado
Privacy Act draft rules. The initial meeting covered Universal Opt
Out Mechanisms (UOOMs) and consumer rights. Pre-registered
participants were given three minutes to present on each topic. AG
staff then posed a variety of questions, encouraging input and
engagement between participants.
Next Stop on the FTC's Rulemaking Train: Proposed Revisions to the Business Opportunity Rule
In today's open meeting, the FTC voted unanimously to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(ANPR) considering expansions to and revisions of the FTC's
existing Business Opportunity Rule ("BOR"). This will be
the first review of the BOR since it was promulgated back in
December 2011. In her statement announcing the ANPR, Chair Khan
indicated that "[t]he rule had served the public well over the
years," but "several varieties of scams . . . fall
outside the scope of the existing rule, [including] certain kinds
of business coaching and work-from-home programs, investment
programs, and e-commerce opportunities." In a familiar refrain
in the FTC's push for rulemaking, Chair Khan argued that
"case-by-case enforcement has key limitations—especially
after the Supreme Court's AMG decision" finding that the
FTC lacked authority to obtain equitable monetary redress under
Section 13(b).
Coca-Cola Beats False Advertising Suit Over Aspirational Claims
Last year, we posted about Earth Island Institute's
lawsuit against Coca-Cola, alleging that the company falsely
represents itself as "a sustainable and environmentally
friendly company, despite being one of the largest contributors of
plastic pollution in the world." While many lawsuits involving
green claims focus on claims about past or present results (which
can usually be proven or disproven), this lawsuit focused on
aspirational and forward-looking statements (which are inherently
harder to prove or disprove).
DC Lawsuit Against the Commanders Signals Expansion of Consumer Protection Laws
Last week, Attorney General Karl Racine announced a new lawsuit against the Washington
Commanders, team owner Dan Snyder, the NFL, and NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell for "colluding to deceive DC residents about an
investigation into toxic workplace culture and allegations of
sexual assault to maintain a strong fanbase and increase
profits."
Attorneys General Revisit the State of Multistates
Last week, multiple state Attorneys General (AGs) and staff from offices nationwide gathered in Washington, DC for the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) 2022 Consumer Protection Fall Conference. The conference addressed pressing and relevant consumer protection issues facing attorney general offices. The public portion of the conference included a panel of current and former AGs, who focused their remarks on multistate investigations.
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