AI in Digital Marketing

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The Federal Trade Commission’s second report on e-cigarette sales and advertising nationwide  shows sales of flavored disposable e-cigarettes and menthol e-cigarette cartridges surging dramatically in 2020. This significant increase, which coincides with a federal ban on the flavored cartridges popular with young smokers, suggests that youth e-cigarette use shifted to substitute products rather than declined. The report also found that the distribution of free and discounted e-cigarettes – a practice linked to a rise in youth smoking – reached record highs. “This report shows that youth are still at risk from flavored or deeply discounted e-cigarettes,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Marketers of e-cigarettes have proven skillful at evading FDA regulation and hooking youth on addictive products.” The FTC has been reporting on tobacco sales annually since 1967 and smokeless tobacco sales since 1987. Last year, the agency expanded its st

The Federal Trade Commission and six states filed a lawsuit against rental listing platform Roomster Corp. and its owners John Shriber and Roman Zaks for allegedly duping consumers seeking affordable housing by paying for fake reviews and then charging for access to phony listings. The complaint alleges that Roomster and its owners have taken tens of millions of dollars from largely low-income and student prospective renters who need reliable housing the most and can least afford to lose money. Separately, the FTC and the states filed a proposed order against Jonathan Martinez—who allegedly sold Roomster tens of thousands of fake reviews—requiring him to pay $100,000 and cooperate in the FTC’s case against Roomster. “Roomster polluted the online marketplace with fake reviews and phony listings, making it even harder for people to find affordable rental housing,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Along with our state partners, we aim to hold

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against data broker Kochava Inc. for selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that can be used to trace the movements of individuals to and from sensitive locations. Kochava’s data can reveal people’s visits to reproductive health clinics, places of worship, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and addiction recovery facilities. The FTC alleges that by selling data tracking people, Kochava is enabling others to identify individuals and exposing them to threats of stigma, stalking, discrimination, job loss, and even physical violence. The FTC’s lawsuit seeks to halt Kochava’s sale of sensitive geolocation data and require the company to delete the sensitive geolocation information it has collected. “Where consumers seek out health care, receive counseling, or celebrate their faith is private information that shouldn’t be sold to the highest bidder,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consum

Current wait times at Canada's hospitals are miserable, 

The fees for telemarketers accessing phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry will increase in FY 2023 , which starts on October 1, 2022. All telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the National DNC Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free to download, and organizations that are exempt, such as some charities and political callers, may obtain the entire list for free. Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers. The cost of accessing a single area code in the registry will be $75 in FY 2023, which is an increase of $6 from FY 2022. The maximum charge to any single entity for accessing all area codes nationwide is now $20,740 (up from 19,017 in FY 2022). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will increase $3 from FY 2022, to $38. The Commission vote authorizing publication of the

The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments to 576 consumers nationwide who bought deceptively marketed cannabidiol (CBD) products from Arizona-based Kushly Industries LLC. In total, the FTC is returning almost $21,000 to consumers deceived by Kushly’s false or unsubstantiated claims about its CBD products, averaging $36 each. Consumers will receive either a PayPal payment or a check in the mail. The deadline for consumers to cash their checks is November 22, 2022. PayPal payments must be claimed by September 23, 2022. Recipients who have questions about their refund should contact the refund administrator, Analytics, Inc., at 1-866-461-4332. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund. The FTC’s March 2021 complaint against Kushly and the company’s CEO, Cody Alt, alleged that they made false or unsubstantiated claims that their CBD products could effectively treat or cure a host of conditions—from common ailments, li

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an order  lifting the stay in the administrative proceeding against Intuit Inc. The case originally commenced in March, 2022 . Based on a motion filed by Intuit, the matter was automatically withdrawn from adjudication pursuant to the Commission Rules of Practice on May 6, 2022, and was stayed to allow the Commission to consider whether further litigation was in the public interest. The order returns the matter to adjudication before an Administrative Law Judge and lifts the stay on the administrative proceeding against the company. In its order returning the matter to adjudication, the Commission set an evidentiary hearing before the Administrative Law Judge on March 27, 2023. The Commission vote to issue the order returning the matter to adjudication was 4-1, with Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips voting in the negative. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/08/ftc-lifts-stay-intuit-administrative-proceeding

The Federal Trade Commission is sending 14,521 checks totaling more than $822,000 to borrowers who lost money to a student loan debt-relief scheme that operated under the name Student Advocates. Consumers who receive checks should cash them within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about their refund should call the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 877-540-0989. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund. In September 2019, the FTC filed a complaint against a student loan debt-relief scheme and the financing company that assisted them. The FTC alleged that the operators of Student Advocates, assisted by Equitable Acceptance Corporation , charged illegal upfront fees that they falsely claimed went toward consumers’ student loans. The defendants steered customers into high-interest loans to pay these fees. The FTC also alleged that the defendants made false promises that their ser

Note: The FTC will host a virtual news conference at 12 p.m. ET today on the ANPR announcement. It will be webcast at https://kvgo.com/ftc/press-conference-aug-11 . Members of the media who wish to participate in today’s news conference must RSVP by 11:30 a.m. ET by sending an email to: OPAPressConference@ftc.gov . The Federal Trade Commission today announced it is exploring rules to crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security. Commercial surveillance is the business of collecting, analyzing, and profiting from information about people. Mass surveillance has heightened the risks and stakes of data breaches, deception, manipulation, and other abuses. The FTC’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks public comment on the harms stemming from commercial surveillance and whether new rules are needed to protect people’s privacy and information. “Firms now collect personal data on individuals at a massive scale and in a stunning array of contexts,” said FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has referred a complaint to the Department of Justice alleging Adam J. Harmon and two companies he controls falsely told consumers that personal protective equipment they marketed during the pandemic, as well as light fixtures they sold, were made in the United States. The FTC charged Harmon and his two companies, Axis LED Group, LLC and ALG-Health LLC, with violating the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, the Made in USA Labeling Rule and the FTC Act. The agency’s proposed order would stop them from making deceptive claims that products were Made in USA – or, that because they were Made in USA, they provided superior protection from COVID-19. The order also would require them to pay a civil penalty for their past deceptive claims. “ALG and its CEO slapped the Made in USA label on masks that were made overseas, and now they’re paying the price,” said Sam Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “As Americans struggle to obtain safe,

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against healthcare company Benefytt Technologies, two subsidiaries, former CEO Gavin Southwell, and former vice president of sales Amy Brady, for lying to consumers about their sham health insurance plans and using deceptive lead generation websites to lure them in. According to the FTC complaint, Benefytt also illegally charged people exorbitant junk fees for unwanted add-on products without their permission. The proposed court orders require Benefytt to pay $100 million in refunds and prohibit the company from lying about their products or charging illegal junk fees. Southwell and Brady will be permanently banned from selling or marketing any healthcare-related product, and Brady will also be banned from telemarketing. “Benefytt pocketed millions selling sham insurance to seniors and other consumers looking for health coverage,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The company is being ordered to p

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The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling more than $1 million to 1,966 consumers who were harmed by a debt collection scheme that conned consumers into paying debts they did not owe. The defendants used several names including GAFS Group, Global Mediation Group, and Mediation Services. Consumers will be recovering all the money they lost to the scammers, averaging $516 for each payment. Consumers will receive either a PayPal payment or a check in the mail. Recipients should redeem PayPal payments within 30 days or cash checks within 90 days. Approximately 200 additional consumers will receive claim forms. To get a payment, they must complete and return the form within 45 days to confirm the amount they paid the defendants. Consumers who have questions about their refund or claim form should call the refund administrator, Analytics, at 866-948-2713. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund. The FTC sued GAFS

The Federal Trade Commission today took action against online home buying firm Opendoor Labs Inc., for cheating potential home sellers by tricking them into thinking that they could make more money selling their home to Opendoor than on the open market using the traditional sales process. The FTC alleged that Opendoor pitched potential sellers using misleading and deceptive information, and in reality, most people who sold to Opendoor made thousands of dollars less than they would have made selling their homes using the traditional process. Under a proposed administrative order, Opendoor will have to pay $62 million and stop its deceptive tactics. “Opendoor promised to revolutionize the real estate market but built its business using old-fashioned deception about how much consumers could earn from selling their homes on the platform,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is nothing innovative about cheating consumers.” Opendoor, headquart