FTC

Advertising delivered through social media or on mobile phones needs to abide by the same requirements that apply to newspaper and television messages, the Federal Trade Commission says.

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday asked for additional information from Nielsen and Arbitron regarding their proposed merger, the companies said. The request could indicate regulatory complications that will prolong the closing of the merger.

Marketers can no longer deny wrongdoing in settlements, potentially opening the door to class-action suits.

Despite the rhetoric in Washington, no one really knows what effect the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts will have on the economy, consumers and business in general. But it’s hard to believe that advertisers, media and telecommunications companies won’t notice some differences at the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, agencies that have jurisdiction over their businesses. Post-sequestration, the best advice for companies that do business with the FCC and FTC is to have some patience. Reports are bound to take longer and decisions are bound to drag on.

Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said on Thursday that he would resign effective mid-February. His departure will end a four-year tenure in which he pushed for online privacy protections and sought to restrain unfair competition, but stumbled in an attempt to rein in the Internet search practices of Google.

Federal regulators on Thursday concluded a nearly two-year probe of Google with what amounts to a slap on the wrist: an agreement to restrict its use of smartphone patents and a voluntary change in how the most dominant search engine on the Web behaves and handles advertisements.

The fiscal cliff wasn’t the only piece of business that went down to the wire in the Senate. On New Year’s Day, the upper chamber confirmed Joshua Wright (R) to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission and approved the renomination of Mignon Clyburn (D) to the FCC. The last-minute confirmations mean that both agencies will begin the year with the requisite five commissioners. Clyburn was a slam dunk for approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

A new Federal Trade Commission report finds that compared to 2006, food marketing targeting 2- to 17-year-olds dropped 19.5% to $1.79 billion in 2009. Most of the decrease came from fewer ads on TV. At the same time, food companies increased by 50 percent spending in new media, such as online, mobile and viral marketing, which are cheaper than TV.

Fighting deceptive advertising on the Web is probably akin to playing a game of Whac-A-Mole, but the FTC has scored a hit against Clickbooth and its affiliate marketers that allegedly used deceptive ads to sell acai berry weight-loss products and colon cleansers.

The Federal Trade Commission wants marketers to be clear and accurate about environmental claims they make for their products.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz is planning to step down as one of the country’s top monopoly-busters by the end of the year. But before the 54-year-old lawyer, a longtime consumer watchdog, returns to private life he may want to push an antitrust case against Google, sources familiar with the case says.

The Federal Trade Commission is suing the satellite cable provider, accusing it of illegally calling millions of customers who asked telemarketers from the company and its affiliates to stop calling them.

Pom Wonderful used insufficient evidence to back claims that its products could treat or prevent serious diseases, the agency’s administrative law judge says.

Skechers USA Inc. will pay $40 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the footwear company made unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen their butt, leg and stomach muscles.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission made the announcement today. Justice is filing a civil suit against the Comcast chairman, but with the proposed settlement agreement that includes the fine. Officials went after him because this is the third time Roberts failed to report that he had been granted stock above a government-set threshold that required him to make an official disclosure.

Reebok has agreed to a $25 million settlement over advertising claims that its EasyTone and RunTone shoes could give users “better legs and a better butt with every step,” and has agreed to stop making the claims, the Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday.

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is promoting a group of seven proposals designed to boost minority ownership, employment and diversity. It also says the package “would likely be met with industry and civil rights organization consensus.”

DENVER (AP) — Colorado and federal officials are suing a company that runs infomercials offering to teach people how make money in the promissory notes business. Colorado Attorney General John […]

The Federal Trade Commission proposed sweeping new guidelines on Thursday that could push the food industry to overhaul how it advertises cereal, soda pop, snacks, restaurant meals and other foods to children in an effort to help stem childhood obesity.

The Federal Trade Commission is asking federal courts to stop 10 firms from using fake websites to make misleading claims regarding acai berry weight-loss products. According to the FTC, the websites appear to be legitimate news outlets, but in reality are a form of marketing designed to entice consumers to buy the featured acai berry weight-loss products from other merchants.

Four environmental organizations have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about EcoAd, a new marketing program from the CBS Corporation, because, they charged, it will mislead and confuse consumers. CBS, in a lengthy statement, denied the complaints.

For the fourth time in 12 years, the Federal Trade Commission plans to study the effectiveness of the voluntary guidelines followed by most marketers of alcoholic beverages. The guidelines are intended primarily to reduce the exposure of advertising to those under the legal drinking age.

An FTC report calls for development of a system that would enable people to avoid having their actions monitored online, a move Internet-ad firms oppose.