Posts Tagged ‘Federal Trade Commission’

“The Disclosure Debates: Food and Product Labeling”

Last fall the editors of the Vermont Law Review were kind enough to invite me to participate in a discussion on food and product labeling, part of a day-long conference “The Disclosure Debates” with panels on environmental, financial, and campaign disclosure. Other panelists included Christine DeLorme of the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Advertising Practices; Brian Dunkiel, Dunkiel Saunders; George Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety; and David Zuckerman, Vermont State Senator and Farmer, Full Moon Farm.

Aside from my own segment above, you can find links to the other segments here. Plus: Environmental Health (VLS) summary of above panel.

Filed under: eat drink and be merry, Federal Trade Commission, food safety, labels, on TV and radio, overwarning, Vermont, wacky warnings

“The Problem of the Administrative State, in One Paragraph”

The Federal Trade Commission acting simultaneously as lawmaker, judge, prosecutor, appellate panel, bailiff, clerk of the court, and many other public servants probably up to and including executioner [Gary Lawson via Steven Hayward, Power Line]

Filed under: administrative law, Federal Trade Commission

FTC flexes its data-privacy powers

And goodbye to an Atlanta-based lab services business [Ed Hudgins, Atlas Business Rights Center] Law-enforcement-for-profit sidelight: according to owner Michael Daugherty, allegations of data insecurity at LabMD emanated from a private firm that held a Homeland Security contract to roam the web sniffing out data privacy gaps at businesses, even as it simultaneously offered those same businesses high-priced services to plug the complained-of gaps.

Filed under: Federal Trade Commission, law enforcement for profit, privacy

The FTC second-guesses Apple design

“Do you really want a regulatory agency designing your iPad?” asks dissenting commissioner Joshua Wright. The Federal Trade Commission considers it an unfair consumer practice for Apple to leave a buying window open for fifteen minutes after password entrance during which further app purchases can be made without keying in the password again; occasionally children have approached an untended tablet and engaged in purchases without asking permission. [Gordon Crovitz, WSJ; Wright dissenting statement]

Filed under: Apple, Federal Trade Commission

16,000 demand letters, 17 agreements to pay

Is this patent asserter seriously overestimating the persuasive validity of its claims to own the process of scanning a document to email? Or is there a rash of inappropriate resistance by small businesses nationwide? “MPHJ has sent letters to approximately 16,465 small businesses nationwide. … it only received 17 (yes, 17!) licenses. Yet the price of these 17 licenses was thousands of small businesses going through the stress and expense of facing a threat of patent litigation.” MPHJ is said to believe that if a business has more than twenty employees and operates in various fields such as “professional services,” it very likely infringes on its patent and owes a royalty of $1,000-$1,200 per employee. [Julie Samuels, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Joe Mullin, ArsTechnica, more and related last year on patent asserters in the office scanning field]

Filed under: Federal Trade Commission, patent trolls

“What’s worse than sponsored content?”

“… The FTC regulating it” [Jack Shafer, Reuters]

Filed under: advertising, Federal Trade Commission

On TV discussing Apple, music-teacher cases

I was a guest Friday on Fox Business Network’s The Willis Report, with guest host Dennis Kneale, to discuss two antitrust cases in the news: Apple’s vigorous efforts to fight back against a monitor appointed as part of its e-books antitrust case [Roger Parloff/Fortune, Alison Frankel/Reuters], and the FTC’s enforcement action against music teachers for anti-competitive practices. You can watch here.

I’ll save the (highly significant) Apple-vs.-monitor case for another post. The Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement action against music teachers, skillfully told by Kim Strassel in the WSJ, demonstrates what officialdom is willing to do with the legal sledgehammer that it claims to need to take on giant corporations like Apple: it uses that weaponry against the mild-mannered piano teacher next door and her little trade association. In a sane world, when the association said its hortatory statement had never been enforced and it would delete it from now on, the FTC’s enforcers would declare victory and move on to some more important case. That they did not do so here speaks volumes about the zeal, careerism and lack of proportion that add up to runaway government. More: George Leef, Forbes.

Filed under: antitrust, Apple, Federal Trade Commission, music and musicians, on TV and radio, settlement monitors

“Patent troll that sues public transit systems gets hauled into court”

We’re previously noted the activities of ArrivalStar and related entities, which have filed numerous suits against enterprises over alleged infringement on vehicle-tracking technology. Now one of its frequent targets, public transit systems, is striking back: the “American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has teamed up with the Public Patent Foundation (PubPat) … [and] have sued to knock out the ArrivalStar patents.” [Joe Mullin, Ars Technica] Also: “F.T.C. Is Said to Plan Inquiry of Frivolous Patent Lawsuits” [New York Times]

Filed under: Federal Trade Commission, patent trolls, transit

May 2 roundup

Pigford and more: why do modern privacy laws so often redound to the benefit of those in power? [Stewart Baker]
N.H. man who lost life savings at carnival game in exchange for dreadlocked banana concedes he was “foolish” but is considering lawsuit [WBZ, BoingBoing]
The judicial humorist — I’ve got him on the list [San Antonio strip club case: MySanAntonio, Above the Law, ABA Journal]
To be for capitalism, be against crony capitalism [Tim Carney, The Atlantic]
“News Corp. Pays Itself $139 Million For Phone-Hacking Scandal — Minus Legal Fees” [Daniel Fisher]
What must they think of the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932? Brennan Center lists Wisconsin bill providing for stays of injunction pending appeal among “Attacks on Judiciary” [Brennan Center Fair Courts E-lert]
Federal Trade Commissioner Joshua Wright says it’s time to pin down commission’s vague Section 5 power [Andrea Agathoklis Murino, WLF]

Filed under: competition through regulation, compulsive gambling, Federal Trade Commission, privacy, securities litigation, strippers and exotic dancers, Wisconsin

January 6 roundup

U.S. v. I.E.V.: “Annals of Tremendously Entertaining Alex Kozinski Opinions” [Kyle Graham] Judge Kozinski on video [Above the Law]
FTC drops Google antitrust probe [Eric Goldman, James Grimmelmann, Geoffrey Manne, earlier here, here]
Andrew Trask picks 2012’s ten most significant class action cases and interesting class action articles;
“I’m quite certain no adults need Patrick Kennedy – of all people – dictating what substances they’re allowed to consume.” [Glenn Greenwald]
U.S. Chamber annual worst-lawsuits list [and DC Examiner editorial] Family of Little League teen sued by spectator hit by ball is grateful for public support [Manchester, N.J. Patch, earlier]
“Boy, 6, suspended from Silver Spring school for pointing finger like a gun” [WaPo, followup (school reverses), Tim Lynch/Cato] Lenore Skenazy nominates the craziest Free-Range stories of 2012;
Toyota’s $1.1 B class action pact will encourage future shakedowns [Michael Krauss/PoL, Public Citizen]

Filed under: Alex Kozinski, class actions, Federal Trade Commission, Google, Little League, Toyota