A U.S. district court in California has temporarily halted an allegedly deceptive mortgage assistance relief operation by National Amendment Assistance, which claimed it can provide mortgage relief assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES). FTC alleged that the mortgage assistance relief operator and related entities allegedly misled consumers into paying unlawful upfront…

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California AG Rob Bonta led a coalition of 18 AGs and state privacy and consumer-protection authorities urging Congress to reject the SECURE Data Act, arguing the proposed federal privacy bill would preempt stronger state privacy laws and leave consumers with fewer protections. In the letter, the coalition warns that the bill would make it harder…

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The FTC reached a $35 million settlement with Shutterstock, Inc. over allegations that the stock photo and video platform violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by charging consumers without informed consent and making subscriptions difficult to cancel. According to the FTC’s complaint, Shutterstock allegedly failed to clearly disclose that certain…

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The FTC settled allegations against high-level participants in LifeWave, a multilevel marketing company that sells phototherapy patches, for allegedly violating the FTC Act by making deceptive earnings claims to recruit new participants. According to the complaint, the LifeWave promoters lured new “brand partners” by touting substantial, unsubstantiated earnings claims, such as $25,000 per week or…

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The FTC and a coalition of eight Republican AGs reached settlements with Dentsu US, Inc., GroupM Worldwide LLC (d/b/a WPP Media), and Publicis, Inc. over allegations that the companies violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and Section 1 of the Sherman Act by coordinating digital advertising “brand safety” standards. The complaint alleged the firms…

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