“Ringless voicemails” are messages left in a consumer’s mailbox without ringing their cell phone. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act protects consumers from unwanted robocalls. The TCPA, in pertinent part, prohibits making any non-emergency call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a wireless telephone number without the … [Read more...]
FTC Reminds Lead Generators Not to Misuse Sensitive Consumer Data
Lead generators and digital marketers, beware. The issue of legitimate data use, reasonable expectations, disclosures, affirmative consent, data privacy compliance and lead generation best practices are still front-and-center at the Federal Trade Commission. Among the most sensitive categories of data collected by connected devices are a person’s precise location and … [Read more...]
Use of Certain Technologies to Track Web Session Data May Violate Law
Attention Lead Generators. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that use of certain technologies on a websites in order to track and record web session data before obtaining affirmative consent may be a violation of California’s wiretap statute. In the case of Javier v. Assurance IQ, LLC and ActiveProspect Inc. (*not precedent except as provided by Ninth … [Read more...]
The FTC, Lead Generation and Telemarketing Sales Rule DNC Investigations
The Federal Trade Commission continues to investigate and enforce violations of the Telemarketing Sales within the lead generation industry, including lead generators that “assist and facilitate” sellers or telemarketers that violate the TSR. Recent FTC Civil Investigative Demands to lead generators illustrate that the FTC may now be resurrecting the issue of the application … [Read more...]
Important Email Marketing Legal Decision by California Court of Appeals
On June 21, 2021 in the matter of Greenberg et al. v. Digital Media Solutions LLC, the Court of Appeal of the State of California held that: (i) a recipient of a commercial email advertisement sent by a third party is not precluded as a matter of law from stating a cause of action under section 17529.5 against the advertiser for the third party’s failure to provide sufficient … [Read more...]
FTC and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Fight About Section 13(b) of the FTC Act
Following a hearing in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last month, Federal Trade Commission Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter wrote to the Committee regarding the FTC’s position that the ability of the agency to return money unlawfully taken from consumers should be restored. The aforementioned Congressional Committee is currently working … [Read more...]
The Highly Anticipated Supreme Court Decision in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission is Drawing Near
And Those in Favor of a Legislative Fix to the FTC’s Embattled Enforcement Authority Under 13(b) Are Acting With a Greater Sense of Purpose Breaking news this morning: U.S. Supreme Court Halts FTC’s Ability to Obtain Ill-Gotten Gains On April 21, 2020 in the matter of AMG Capital Management, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively made it more difficult for the Federal Trade … [Read more...]
FTC Obtains Court Order Banning Alleged Work-From-Home Scammer from Selling Business Opportunities and Using Robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has permanently banned an alleged work-from-home scammer from selling or promoting business opportunities and from using robocalls under the terms of a settlement. The FTC alleged that an individual and a number of companies he allegedly controlled initiated millions of robocalls nationwide to promote purported sham … [Read more...]
Court Holds No TCPA Standing With Ringless Voice Mail Message
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that a plaintiff does not suffer concrete injury through receipt of a single ringless voice mail message. Grigorian v. FCA US LLC, No. 19-15026, 2020 WL 7238392 (11th Cir. Dec. 9, 2020). The Eleventh Circuit previously ruled that receipt of a single, unsolicited text message does not constitute the harm necessary to achieve Article III … [Read more...]
DoJ Announces Historic Civil Penalty in a Telemarketing Enforcement Action
The Department of Justice has announced a settlement in which DISH Network LLC will pay $126 million in civil penalties to the United States for placing millions of telemarketing calls in violation of the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule. This settlement represents the largest civil penalty ever paid to resolve telemarketing violations under the FTC Act, … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Brief Filed in Favor of Broad Interpretation of ATDS Definition
The Plaintiff in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid has recently filed its merits brief on this issue of whether the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s definition of “automatic telephone dialing system,” 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(1), encompasses a device that can store and automatically dial telephone numbers without using a random or sequential number generator. The Supreme Court case … [Read more...]
Advertiser and Network Responsibilities for What Others Say in Social Media
As previously blogged about here, the FTC actively continues its assault on paid-for rankings, ratings and review websites. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides provide that if there is a “material connection” between an endorser and an advertiser – in other words, a connection that might affect the weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement – that connection should … [Read more...]
Breaking News: Supreme Court Limits Regulatory Right to Disgorgement in Judicial Enforcement Actions
On June 22, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated opinion in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission. In doing so, the Court rejected the Liu petitioners’ argument that the SEC is not entitled to “equitable” disgorgement of profits from unlawful activity in securities litigation, but provided for deduction of legitimate expenses. The opinion was authored … [Read more...]
FTC’s Assault on Paid-For Rankings, Ratings and Review Websites Continues
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides provide that if there is a “material connection” between an endorser and an advertiser – in other words, a connection that might affect the weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement – that connection should be “clearly and conspicuously” disclosed, unless it is already clear from the context of the communication. A material … [Read more...]
Court Addresses Unconstitutional TCPA Damages and Who Can be Held Liable
A company that managed the ownership rights of a film hired a company to promote and market the film. There were approximately 3.2 million telephone calls made over a short period of time that delivered a prerecorded audio message from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The two plaintiffs received two voice messages and subsequently initiated class action … [Read more...]