Ad Law Insights - Legal and Regulatory Updates
FTC + state attorneys general digital marketing compliance, investigation + enforcement advocacy by FTC lawyer to Internet business community
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On April 14, 2026, the FTC accounced that the operators of a multilevel marketing (MLM) company will be permanently prohibited from making deceptive earnings claims to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company deceived consumers into believing that they could earn profits from the venture when the vast majority of participants made little or no money.
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the company, its CEO, and its President used deceptive earnings claims to attract new participants called “Forever Business Owners” (FBOs), most of whom allegedly made no money or even lost money. The company and its operators purportedly claimed participants could make money by selling its health and wellness products either in person or online through the company’s website and by recruiting new participants who would do the same.
“Today’s complaint alleges that [the company] deceived prospective workers with false and unsubstantiated earnings claims. [The company] misled workers with promises of substantial income that, in reality, bore little to no resemblance to what participants actually earned,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Deceptive earnings claims do not just mislead workers—they divert workers away from genuine, income-generating jobs. The FTC will not hesitate to take action against companies that deceive workers with claims of false earnings that they know few, if any, will achieve.”
Through in-person meetings and conferences, internet and social media posts and videos, and print materials, the company used images of luxury cars and giant checks,
On April 9, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that StubHub, the nation’s largest ticket exchange and resale ticket provider, will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated the FTC Act and the agency’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees by allegedly deceptively advertising ticket prices on its website without clearly and conspicuously disclosing up-front how much consumers actually would pay, including all mandatory fees.
“The Commission’s Fees Rule makes it very clear that the total price of live-event tickets must be disclosed up-front to enable consumers to make fully informed purchasing decisions,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Price transparency is essential to a free and competitive marketplace. Today’s settlement underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that consumers pay the price they are promised.”
The FTC’s action against StubHub Holdings, Inc., follows a warning letter the agency sent the online ticket platform in May 2025 alleging that multiple prices displayed on its website appeared to be in violation of the Fees Rule. Under the Unfair or Deceptive Fees (aka Junk Fees) Rule, which took effect on May 12, 2025, it is an unfair and deceptive practice for any business to offer, display, or advertise the price of a live-event ticket without clearly, conspicuously, and most prominently disclosing the total price, which the Rule defines as “the maximum total of all fees or charges a consumer must pay for any good(s) or service(s) and any mandatory ancillary good or service.”
Misrepresenting prices also violates the FTC Act.
On March 26, 2026, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson announced that letters had been sent to four major financial infrastructure platforms and payment providers reminding them of their obligations to their customers under the FTC Act.
The letters issued to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard raise concerns about alleged publicly reported examples of financial services companies denying their customers access to services due to their political or religious views.
“Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system,” Chairman Ferguson wrote.
“It is inconsistent with American values to deny law-abiding individuals the ability to run their legitimate businesses and feed their families because they attracted the ire of rogue American officials, overzealous activists, or, more worryingly, foreign governments seeking to control public discourse,” he continued. “That is why President Trump’s August 7, 2025, Executive Order on debanking makes clear that it is unacceptable to debank law-abiding citizens due to ‘political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.’”
The letters warn the companies that any act or practice to deplatform customers or deny them access to financial products or services, or to facilitate such conduct by other companies, that is inconsistent with their terms of service or a customer’s reasonable expectations may violate the FTC Act and could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action.
On April 2, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission and Maryland Attorney General today announced that an automotive group and its executives will return money to resolve allegations that they deceived consumers for years with falsely advertised low prices and unwanted add-ons that purportedly led to buyers paying thousands of dollars more for their vehicles.
Consumers that were allegedly charged a total of more than $75 million between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025, may be eligible for redress. In addition, the auto group will pay a $3.1 million civil penalty to the Maryland Attorney General’s office. The proposed order settling the agencies’ complaint also requires the auto group to provide the total price of the car, including all mandatory fees, to consumers looking to buy or lease a vehicle.
“[The auto group] misled consumers by advertising false low car prices and then adding mandatory fees and other charges during the car buying process,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Trump-Vance FTC is focused on ensuring that auto dealers competitors’ are transparently competing on price.”
“We filed this lawsuit because [the auto dealiership] misled Maryland car buyers into overpaying for their vehicles. This settlement puts money back in Marylanders’ pockets and puts a stop to these predatory practices,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown. “Our office is committed to ensuring that every Maryland consumer who does business with a car dealership is treated fairly.”
The agencies’ joint complaint,
On March 24, 2026, FTC attorneys announced that Air AI will be banned from marketing business opportunities as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges the company misled entrepreneurs and small businesses with deceptive claims about business growth, earnings potential, and refund guarantees.
The FTC’s August 2025 complaint against Air AI, five related companies, and their owners alleged that, since at least February 2023, the company and its owners:
- Falsely claimed that people who purchase their services will or are likely to make substantial earnings;
- Falsely claimed that purchasers of the Air AI Access Card or licenses are protected by a refund or buy-back guarantee;
- Misrepresented the performance, efficacy, nature, or central characteristics of their services, their refund policies, or the risk, earnings potential, or profitability of its services, in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR); and
- Failed to provide consumers with required disclosure documents and earnings claims statements, made false claims about the profitability of the investment and their refund and cancellation policies, and failed to provide refunds when consumers met the refund policy requirements, in violation of the Business Opportunity Rule.
The proposed order against Air AI includes a monetary judgment of $18 million, which will be largely suspended based on the company’s and operators’ inability to pay the full amount, requiring the operators of Air AI to pay $50,000 to the FTC for consumer relief.
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About This Blog and Hinch Newman’s Advertising + Marketing Practice
Hinch Newman LLP’s advertising and marketing practice includes two decades successfully resolving some of the highest-profile Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general digital advertising and telemarketing investigations and enforcement actions. As FTC attorneys, the firm possesses superior compliance knowledge and deep legal advocacy experience in the areas of advertising, marketing, lead generation, promotions, e-commerce, privacy and intellectual property law. It has also been selected to author the Consumer Protection Section of the prestigious American Lawyer Media International Federal Trade Commission: Law, Practice and Procedure Treatise, a comprehensive resource for developments of concern to advertisers, marketers and legal professionals that practice before the Commission. Through these advertising and marketing law updates, Hinch Newman LLP provides commentary, news and analysis on issues and trends concerning developments of interest to digital marketers, including FTC and state attorneys general advertising compliance, civil investigative demands (CIDs), and administrative/ judicial process.