This week the FTC announced that it finalized its revisions to the Endorsement Guides, which give advertisers guidance on ensuring that their use of endorsements or testimonials complies with the FTC Act. At the same time, the FTC also announced an updated accompanying guidance document, “FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking.” While the revised … Continue Reading
In this final installment of our “On Notice” series about the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Endorsements, we discuss when and how to properly disclose the existence of a material connection between an advertiser and an endorsing party. Per the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses, “[i]t is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an action brought against YouTube and Google by a non-profit educational and media organization alleging a violation of the First Amendment and false advertising under the Lanham Act, as well as various state law claims.… Continue Reading
In a recent decision, the advertising industry self-regulatory body NAD recommended that influencer marketing firm Ahalogy tone down some of its claims about the capabilities of its new product, the Tri-Verified influencer marketing platform. The decision comes at a time when influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular— and challenging—field. Influencer marketing is what the … Continue Reading
Recognizing the growing role of social media and influencers in marketing today, the Federal Trade Commission announced on April 19 that it sent more than 90 letters to social media influencers and marketing executives reminding them to disclose relationships between brands and endorsers when promoting products on social media. Although the FTC has taken action … Continue Reading
Proskauer’s New Media and Technology Law Blog recently provided a helpful summary of the FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on native advertising. Check it out here. *** Want to talk advertising? We welcome your questions, ideas, and thoughts on our posts. Email or call us at lweinstein@proskauer.com /212-969-3240 or akaplan@proskauer.com /212-969-3671. We are editors of Proskauer … Continue Reading
While courts may not officially be in the business of ghostbusting, a district court in California recently offered some support to a blender manufacturer apparently haunted by a phantom reviewer. The court found that negative internet reviews posted by the shadowy “Chris W” – who is allegedly a front for a competitor – can suffice … Continue Reading
Last Tuesday, the FDA issued two draft industry guidance documents advising pharmaceutical companies on how to accurately communicate information concerning prescription drugs and medical devices on social media and other Internet platforms. The first guidance contains recommendations for promoting medical products on social media and internet platforms with character limitations, such as Twitter or paid … Continue Reading
Farmville is a game that celebrates the digital harvest: players earn Farm Coins by diligently and systematically harvesting their virtual crops. Yet a different kind of digital harvest – the harvest of user data – was at the heart of two unsuccessful class action suits users filed against Facebook and Zynga. While the Ninth Circuit … Continue Reading
It appears that California’s consumer-friendly Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus & Prof. Code §17200 et seq. (“UCL”), encompasses claims made regarding website privacy policies. In In re LinkedIn User Privacy Litigation, No. 5:12-cv-0388-EJD, a Northern District of California court denied LinkedIn’s motion to dismiss a putative class action concerning LinkedIn’s allegedly misleading privacy policy statement … Continue Reading
How private is private? This is the question at the heart of a putative class action recently brought against Facebook in Toronto. Plaintiff Lavinia Latham claims, on behalf of herself and up to 18-million similarly situated Canadians, that Facebook committed a number of privacy offenses by extracting information from users’ private messages without permission and using that … Continue Reading
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