On Friday, July 10, the Federal Communications Commission enacted major changes and clarifications to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). Approved on a contentious 3-2 vote by the FCC commissioners, the FCC released its Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) formally stating its interpretation of numerous provisions of TCPA.
The TCPA
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a new guidance entitled “Start with Security,” intended to assist businesses in improving their data security practices. Stemming from “basic, fundamental security missteps” identified by the FTC through the more than fifty FTC data security enforcement actions, this suggested guidance provides valuable insight into the issues of concern to
The FTC and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi obtained an ex parte temporary restraining order from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on June 22, temporarily halting several Orlando-based companies from allegedly making illegal robocalls designed to trick consumers nationwide into paying for “worthless credit card interest rate reduction programs.”
As we discussed last year, the Federal Trade Commission announced in May 2014 that it settled charges against Asset Capital and Management Group for illegally extracting payments from consumers for credit card debt that it had purchased from creditors.
In addition to banning the defendants – which includes individuals behind the scheme, a network
On June 29, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached settlements with two Las Vegas auto dealerships, Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan, over claims that they violated the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 by advertising large discounts not available to the general public.
The allegations against Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan involved
On June 15, the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the New York State Attorney General hosted a “Debt Collection Dialogue” in Buffalo, New York. FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman delivered opening remarks, and officials from the New York State Department of Financial
A putative nationwide class action was recently filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act against Dollar Tree Stores Inc. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Florida.
The complaint alleges that Dollar Tree failed to properly disclose in a separate document that it was going to obtain employees’ consumer reports for hiring purposes
Federal courts in New York and Georgia have granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily stop certain debt collection practices that the FTC alleges violate federal law. Specifically, the FTC alleges that the unlawful and scandalous activity includes threatening and deceiving consumers through text messages, emails, and certain types of phone calls.
On May
A growing avalanche of lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act spurred industry groups and businesses, particularly financial services companies, to file more than 20 petitions with the Federal Communications Commission seeking clarifications and interpretations of the TCPA’s requirements. An announcement by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler indicates that the Commissioners will be acting on the
On May 19, the Federal Trade Commission and all fifty state attorneys general and the District of Columbia charged four cancer charities and their operators with bilking more than $187 million from consumers. The alleged fraud, detailed in a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, is said to