Two plaintiffs learned the hard way that not all environmental marketing claims are treated the same. A federal judge in Missouri recently dismissed a proposed class action by the shoppers against H&M over the company’s marketing of its “Conscious Choice” fashion line.Continue Reading Lizama et al. v. H&M: A Lesson in Artful Crafting of Green Claims
Last week, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022, a new bill that seeks to significantly restrict targeted advertising practices. The proposed legislation prohibits “advertising facilitators” (defined as entities who receive consideration for disseminating ads and collect or process personal information in connection with such dissemination) from targeting ads to individuals based on their personal information. In addition, the bill prohibits advertisers from targeting, or using an advertising facilitator to target, ads based on personal information that the advertiser obtained from a third party (i.e., anyone other than the individual to whom such information pertains), or that identifies a person as a member of a protected class. These restrictions also apply to practices that target groups of individuals and groups of connected devices, in addition to an individual person or connected device.
Continue Reading Proposed Federal Legislation Seeks to Ban Targeted Advertising
This article was originally published on Food Navigator on January 13, 2021.
If your company sells any vanilla-flavored food or beverage product, then you are probably aware of the innumerable class action cases that have been filed over the last 18 months attacking these products – 67 cases by our count. Here, we trace the history of this litigation and the outcomes achieved to date.
Continue Reading The Scoop on All that Vanilla Flavor False Advertising Litigation
It appears that users won’t be seeing the blue AdChoices triangle icon on Twitter anytime soon. AdChoices and its blue triangle icon are the work of the Digital Advertising Alliance (a consortium of trade groups) to provide users with disclosure of and the ability to opt out of targeted behavioral advertising (e.g. ads based on websites visited). This industry self-regulatory option was intended to be a broad and unifying option to stave off governmental regulation.
Continue Reading Was AdChoices Just Flipped the (Twitter)Bird on Behavioral Targeting?
On Thursday, June 27, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that Mortgage Investors Corporation of Ohio, Inc. (“Mortgage Investors”) will pay a $7.5 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”). This settlement marks the largest fine that the FTC has ever collected for TSR violations and cleverly coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the National Do Not Call Registry.
Continue Reading ‘Do Not Call’ Violations Lead to $7.5 Million Civil Penalty
Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act ("Prop 37”), if approved by the voters on November 6, 2012, will provide that food offered for retail sale in California produced with genetic engineering (“GMO food”) is misbranded unless clearly labeled to say it is genetically engineered. Prop 37 also provides that GMO “processed food” may not on its label, store signage, advertising or promotional materials state or imply that the food is “natural” or words of similar import.
Ballot materials prepared by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) state that Prop 37 could be interpreted to mean “processed food” is subject to the prohibition against “natural” labels, even if it is not produced with genetic engineering. In our view, this is not the correct interpretation of Prop. 37.Continue Reading Proposition 37 Permits “Natural” Labeling for Non-GMO Processed Food
By Craig Cardon, Brian Anderson, Rachel Hudson.
On January 5, 2011, the Third Circuit issued its decision in New Jersey Retail Merchants Association v. Sidamon-Eristoff, Case No. 10-4551 (3d Cir. Jan. 5, 2012). The appellate court affirmed the decision of the District Court partially granting and partially denying a motion for a preliminary injunction of enforcement of New Jersey’s unclaimed property law as applied to gift cards or stored value cards ("SVCs").Continue Reading Third Circuit Issues Decision in New Jersey Gift Card Escheat Suit
Advertisers are constantly looking for new ways to obtain more information from and about online consumers in an effort to provide a more enriching and satisfying online experience for the
On December 21, 2010, the FCC approved controversial net neutrality rules in a party-line vote. Democratic Commissioners Copps and Clyburn joined Chairman Genachowski in approving the Order, despite concerns that it did not go far enough. Republican Commissioners McDowell and Baker wrote lengthy dissents, arguing that the FCC had stepped far beyond its regulatory authority in approving Internet regulations.
Continue Reading FCC Approves Controversial Net Neutrality Rules
The image of 36 women wearing skimpy orange dresses at a World Cup soccer match last June raised the ire of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”), which had two
Continue Reading Stealing the Show?
Last week Sun Chips pulled its biodegradable snack bag off the market around the same time that the FTC announced that it wanted to change its so-called "Green Guides." Coincidence? Maybe. Sun Chips explained that the more environmentally-friendly bag that it launched with a nice spot on Earth Day – was "noisier" than its regular bag, raising complaints from consumers who were more interested in having a quiet snack bag than doing something to help save the planet. But complaints about "noisy" bags aside, the changes that the FTC has proposed to the Green Guides will make it harder for marketers like Sun Chips to tout the things that they’re doing to help reduce the negative effect that their product manufacturing and distribution pipelines are having on the environment. If the FTC takes away a brand’s ability to tout those attributes, then it also takes away a brand’s ability to leverage those attributes to increase sales. And if that’s taken away, we run the risk that brands will make green initiatives less of a priority, which will hurt us all.
Continue Reading Will The Revised “Green Guides” Do More Harm Than Good?