Release of Commission report: The Commission, with the concurrence of the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, has authorized the release of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Report to Congress Regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Program. The report summarizes Commission and Department of Justice (DOJ) actions conducted under the HSR Act in fiscal year 2006, noting […]
Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission
FTC Testifies on Potential Risks of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
The Federal Trade Commission today told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that consumer use of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology can be risky and discussed the work the FTC has done to address these risks to consumers. Mary Engle, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices, told the Committee, “Although P2P technology […]
Business Opportunity Marketers Pay $122,000 to Consumers to Settle FTC Charges
Prohibited from Making False Earnings Claims, Similar Deceptions in the Future An operation that was charged with deceptively marketing candy vending machine business opportunities will give back $122,000 to consumers who invested in it. The Federal Trade Commission charged that the operation lured consumers by falsely promising big incomes and prime locations for the machines, […]
Federal and State Agencies Announce Pilot Project to Improve Supervision of Subprime Mortgage Lenders
Three federal agencies and two associations of state regulators will cooperate in an innovative pilot project to conduct targeted consumer-protection compliance reviews of selected non-depository lenders with significant subprime mortgage operations. The collaborative state/federal pilot is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and will focus on non-depository subsidiaries of bank and […]
FTC Issues Clarification to Consumers Who Received a Refund Check from the USA Immigration Services Redress Program
Commission Clarification: On July 9, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission began issuing refund checks to certain customers of USA Immigration Services. The letter accompanying those checks stated that consumers received a check because they paid the defendants for “green card” lottery assistance services. The letter should have stated that consumers received a check because, sometime […]
FTC, HHS to Host Forum on Childhood Obesity
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services will host a forum, “Weighing In: A Check-Up on Marketing, Self-Regulation, and Childhood Obesity,” to review progress in implementing self-regulatory and educational initiatives to combat childhood obesity. WHO: Opening Remarks by:FTC Chairman Deborah Platt MajorasOther speakers listed on the event agenda, available […]
FTC, Partners Offer Framework for Consumer Redress and Dispute Resolution
The Federal Trade Commission, together with other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), today adopted a Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress. The OECD recommendation offers a framework for governments and businesses to help consumers resolve disputes and settle claims, both for individual consumers and groups of consumers, and offers […]
Commission Approves Brunos Petition to Reopen and Set Aside Order
Commission approval of petition to reopen and set aside order: The Commission has approved a petition from Bruno’s Supermarkets to reopen and modify the final FTC decision and order in the matter of Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold) and Bruno’s Supermarkets, Inc. (Bruno’s), Docket No. C-4027. As detailed in the petition, a copy of which can […]
Spam Summit: The Next Generation of Threats and Solutions
WHAT: A two-day conference that will bring together experts from the business, government, and technology sectors, consumer advocates, and academics to explore consumer protection issues surrounding spam, phishing and malware. The agenda and a list of participants can be found athttp://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/spamsummit/agenda.shtm WHO: FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and distinguished panelists WHERE: FTC Conference Center601 New […]
FTC Receives Two Petitions for Approval of Proposed Divestitures from SCI and Alderwoods Group
Petitions for approval of proposed divestiture: The Commission has received two petitions from Service Corporation International (SCI) and Alderwoods Group, Inc. seeking approval of a proposed divestiture related to SCI’s recent acquisition of Alderwoods. In the FTC’s consent agreement and order allowing the transaction to proceed with conditions, SCI and Alderwoods were required to divest […]