Tag Archives: advertising

The Federal Trade Commission’s New Health Product Compliance Guidance

Photo of Randal M. ShaheenPhoto of Daniel KaufmanBy Randal M. Shaheen and Daniel Kaufman on Posted in Advertising
Join Randy Shaheen and Daniel Kaufman as they discuss the Federal Trade Commission’s new Health Products Compliance Guidance. During this webinar, they will share their insights about the new Guidance, highlight areas of particular importance for anyone involved in marketing or analyzing health claims, and explain how this new document differs from the agency’s two-decade-old … Continue Reading

AdTech: Regulation, Compliance and Where We are Heading

Photo of Theodore J. Kobus IIIBy Theodore J. Kobus III on Posted in Advertising
Partners Fernando Bohorquez, Gerald Ferguson, Linda Goldstein and Jeewon Serrato, and Associate Justin Yedor served as panelists in a recent article published in the January 2022 issue of Financier Worldwide. In the article, they offer insights regarding key advertising technology regulation and compliance trends, including recent digital advertising efforts, benefits and insights, and current regulatory … Continue Reading

FTC Puts 700+ Companies on Notice to Expect to Pay Penalties for Any Endorsement Violations

Photo of Linda A. GoldsteinPhoto of Amy Ralph MudgePhoto of Randal M. ShaheenPhoto of John P. FerryPhoto of Matthew RenickBy Linda A. Goldstein, Amy Ralph Mudge, Randal M. Shaheen, John P. Ferry and Matthew Renick on Posted in Advertising, FTC
By: Linda Goldstein, Amy Mudge, Randy Shaheen, Jack Ferry and Matt Renick The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) announced on Oct. 13 a widespread enforcement action against deceptive endorsement practices. The Commission sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses to more than 700 companies, notifying them that conduct related to fake or misleading endorsements and … Continue Reading

Colorado’s Privacy Act: A Curve Ball on Consent and Targeted Ads

Photo of Andreas KaltsounisPhoto of Stanton BurkePhoto of BakerHostetlerBy Andreas Kaltsounis, Stanton Burke and BakerHostetler on Posted in Advertising
On July 7, 2021, Gov. Jared Polis signed the Colorado Privacy Act (CoPA) into law, making Colorado the third state to enact a comprehensive privacy law, joining California and Virginia. The Act goes into effect on July 1, 2023, and shares many of the rights and obligations provided in other comprehensive privacy laws such as … Continue Reading

Podcast: AD-ttorneys@law: False Advertising or Just Puffing?

Photo of Randal M. ShaheenBy Randal M. Shaheen on Posted in Advertising, Podcast
Absolute truth in advertising is something of a rarity, but not every untrue statement is false advertising. In this episode, BakerHostetler partner Randy Shaheen is going to ply you with pointers on avoiding puffery’s promotional pitfalls and potential problems. Questions and Comments: rshaheen@bakerlaw.com Listen to the episode. Subscribe to BakerHosts Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn Download Episode Transcript… Continue Reading

Upcoming Webinars

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Advertising, CCPA
April 23, 2020: Marketing, Promoting and Pricing Your Products During the Pandemic For some companies, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant trying to cope with flying-off-the-shelf demand; for others, it has meant retail shutdowns, force majeure and trying to find creative new ways to keep sales afloat. For all of us, it has been a time … Continue Reading

A Collaborative Effort: The Advertising, Marketing and Digital Media Team

Photo of Linda A. GoldsteinPhoto of Amy Ralph MudgeBy Linda A. Goldstein and Amy Ralph Mudge on Posted in Advertising
The following story is one in a six-part series devoted to the half-dozen pioneering teams that comprise the firm’s new Digital Asset and Data Management Group. A prime example of BakerHostetler’s preeminence in the legal industry is on display in its latest Practice Group, Digital Asset and Data Management (DADM), which offers holistic, enterprise-wide risk … Continue Reading

Ad and Publishing Industries Confront CCPA Challenges While Congress Considers Privacy

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in CCPA
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), effective Jan. 1, 2020, will require more privacy transparency and choice for consumers than they have ever had under U.S. law, but its approach to providing consumers with the right to opt out of a sale of their personal information threatens to disrupt the third-party digital advertising ecosystem. Most … Continue Reading

Increased Scrutiny on Notice and Choice for Use of AD Profiling, Especially Using Mobile Location Data

Photo of Taylor A. BloomBy Taylor A. Bloom, Alan L. Friel and Niloufar Massachi on Posted in Advertising, Big Data, Marketing, Mobile Privacy
Are you an app publisher or do you advertise via mobile apps or obtain marketing data that originates from them?  If so, you need to beware that regulators and consumer protection authorities are taking action against companies with regard to the notice and choice, or lack thereof, they are providing to consumers for the collection … Continue Reading

States Propose to Expand Child Privacy and Ad Laws

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in Children’s Privacy
It is the 25th anniversary of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which has served us well, but states are looking to expand privacy protection for minors. Several years ago California expanded its Online Privacy Protection Act to give minors the right to remove content they have posted on social media and certain other … Continue Reading

California Legislature Cracks Down on Advertising Bots Involved in Commercial Transactions and Influencing Voters in Elections

Photo of Zoe SteinbergBy Alan L. Friel and Zoe Steinberg on Posted in Advertising, State Legislation
Bot or real person? – a question most online users probably don’t ask themselves when interacting online or seeing how many followers a person has on a social media platform. Most likely, online users don’t know whether they are talking to a “bot,” especially if they think they are communicating on or browsing an interactive … Continue Reading

The Weekly Privacy Rewind

By Aaron Lancaster on Posted in Weekly Privacy Rewind
Class Actions Facebook Cannot Evade Suit Under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act Even Where No Proof of Harm • In separate rulings handed down last week in the Northern District of California, the court refused to dismiss a case against Facebook under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) on Article III standing grounds. • According … Continue Reading

Toying With Children’s Data: Lessons From the FTC’s First Connected Toys Settlement Action

Photo of Carolina AlonsoBy Alan L. Friel and Carolina Alonso on Posted in Advertising, Children’s Privacy
Every year, especially around the holidays, more and more products that connect to the internet hit the market. For adults, connected home devices that act like personal domestic assistants have become increasingly popular. Children have been adding connected toys, some of which have the intelligence and programming to become a child’s best friend, to their … Continue Reading

FTC Takes Action Against Individual Social Media Influencers

Photo of Stephanie LucasBy Stephanie Lucas on Posted in Social Media
Advertisers’ and brands’ use of social media influencers has continued to grow in importance as brands seek to reach new consumers while marketing to a widespread demographic. Traditionally, influencers are known as people who leverage their social media presence to endorse or promote a brand or product for some form of compensation. As influencers have … Continue Reading

Industry Watchdog Reminds Digital Advertisers of the Importance of Providing Consumers With Transparency and Choice in Latest Enforcement Actions

Photo of Sara GoldsteinBy Alan L. Friel and Sara Goldstein on Posted in Advertising
Two digital advertising companies, Adbrain and Exponential Interactive, were cited in recent decisions by the Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (OIBAAP) for not complying with the online advertising industry’s requirements for interest-based advertising (IBA), the practice of tracking users across time and services to build interest profiles on them in order to … Continue Reading

Babies and Baby-making, or Not… Privacy and Security Lessons for the Internet of Things

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in Internet of Things
What do babies, sex toys and wireless head phones have in common? Apparently, the privacy concerns of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state AGs and legislatures, class action plaintiffs, and consumer advocacy groups, at least when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT refers to consumer devices that are connected, directly or … Continue Reading

Latest Data Breach Settlement Illustrates Need for Companies to Prioritize Cybersecurity

By David M. Brown on Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Enforcement, Online Privacy, Retail Industry
On Aug. 5, 2016, the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announced a $100,000 settlement with an e-retailer following an investigation of a data breach that resulted in the potential exposure of more than 25,000 credit card numbers and other personal information. According to the investigation, on Aug. 7, 2014, in an all-too-common scenario, an … Continue Reading

Mobile Ad Co Settles with FTC Over Allegations of Deceptive Geolocation Tracking And Children’s Privacy Violations for $4 Million

By Alan L. Friel and Suchismita Pahi on Posted in Children’s Privacy
On June 22, 2016, mobile advertising company InMobi Private Ltd. settled Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) claims of violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act, and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and Rule (COPPA), for $4 million.  The violations of COPPA supported the monetary penalty since, unlike Section 5, COPPA provides for … Continue Reading

DAA Issues Inaugural Enforcement Action for Compliance with Mobile App Guidelines

By Alan L. Friel and F. Paul Pittman on Posted in Mobile Privacy
In a prior post we noted the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (DAA) intention, late last year, to begin enforcement of the Application of Self-Regulatory Principles to the Mobile Environment (Mobile App Guidelines), which apply to all participants in the mobile advertising ecosystem. The DAA recently followed through on this promise by issuing its inaugural enforcement decision … Continue Reading

FTC Prosecutes Serving of Behavior Ads on Kids’ Apps

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in Children’s Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission reminded publishers and advertisers recently that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits data collection, absent verified parental consent, for behavioral (interest-based) advertising on websites or mobile apps directed at children under 13. App publisher TapBlaze paid $60,000 and entered into a 20-year consent (available here) to settle charges. The revised … Continue Reading

The FTC and DAA Set Their Sights on Cross-Device Tracking

By Alan L. Friel and Daniel Goldberg on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Big Data
Gone are the days of single-browser tracking. Accordingly, cross-device tracking – the process of tracking a single consumer across all of the consumer’s devices – is the new Holy Grail for marketers. Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a U.S. advertising industry self-regulatory program, have taken notice. On November … Continue Reading

FTC Clarifies Native and Online Ad Obligations

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Alan L. Friel and Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Marketing, Retail Industry, Social Media
The FTC, in recent staff statements, has sought to clarify advertisers’ and publishers’ obligations regarding native advertising and social media promotions, particularly regarding when and how to clarify to readers that a message is promotional and that the speaker has a material connection to the brand mentioned in the content. Further, the FTC has announced … Continue Reading
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