eCommerce
On May 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that at its request, a federal judge ordered a payment processing company, and its operators to pay $6.5 million in sanctions for allegedly violating a 2015 federal court order designed to prevent the company from enabling consumer fraud. On May 13, 2026, the U.S. District Court in Nevada entered the order finding that the payment processor, along with executives in civil contempt for multiple alleged violations of the 2015 order. The court determined the defendants violated multiple core provisions of the 2015 federal court order by allegedly facilitating fraud on behalf of several scammers.
“It is a Commission priority to root out fraud in the payments system,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “I am pleased the court held [the payment processor], [and the executives] accountable for violating the requirements of the order they agreed to in 2015. As the court concluded, [the payment processor] and its executives assisted and facilitated scammers in avoiding fraud and risk monitoring programs and failed to conduct the 2015 order’s required underwriting. The court’s order should send a strong signal that the Commission will enforce its orders and continue to prioritize rooting out fraud from the American payment system.”
The court found the defendants unlawfully processed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions for merchants that were on Mastercard’s Member Alert To Control High-risk merchants (MATCH) list.
The court also concluded the defendants:
- Assisted and facilitated two groups of merchants in avoiding fraud and risk monitoring programs,
In 2026, the Center for Industry Self-Regulations launched the Institute for Responsible Influence. The aim of the agency is to offer an interactive certification program designed “to elevate transparency, strengthen accountability, empower creators, and foster trusted brand partnerships within creator marketing.”
The Institute trains training influencers and offers resources to assist with complying with the FTC’s Endorsement Guides and Review Rule, and other advertising legal regulations, including a certification program. The Institute shall offers a database of certified influencers for brands.
Enrollment and training have begun.
Those that complete the program receive the Institute for Responsible Influence Certification Seal and are subject to ongoing monitoring. They are also included in a searchable database so that brands can connect.
Brands and influencers with questions may contact the author to discuss the certification program.
Richard B. Newman is an FTC advertising practices attorney at Hinch Newman LLP.
Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. This article is not intended to and should not be construed as legal advice. May be considered attorney advertising.
California’s new Business and BCSA is intended to strengthen oversight, improving coordination across departments, and modernize California’s consumer protection framework amid growing threats from weakened federal enforcement.
Chopra previously served as Director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, where he led major efforts to crack down on junk fees, corporate misconduct, and unfair practices harming consumers and small businesses. The new agency, which was established by Governor Newsom through a government reorganization last year will bring together a broad range of licensing, enforcement and other functions that ensure fair competition and treatment for consumers and businesses across a number of sectors of California’s economy.
The agency officially launches July 1, 2026.
“While federal agencies are making life more expensive and enriching special interests, California will be firing on all cylinders to make sure markets aren’t rigged against families and small businesses,” said Rohit Chopra. “By bringing together dozens of boards, bureaus, and departments under one roof, California’s new agency will work to protect the public in health care,
On May 4, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it will prohibit data broker Kochava and its subsidiary from selling, sharing or disclosing sensitive location data without consumers’ affirmative express consent to settle allegations the companies sold location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to trace the movements of individuals.
The FTC sued Idaho-based Kochava in August 2022 alleging that its collection, use and disclosure of precise location data invaded consumers’ privacy by revealing their movements, including visits to sensitive locations such as health facilities and places of worship. According to the author, the FTC alleged that because consumers were unaware of and did not consent to this data sharing, consumers had no way of avoiding the harm resulting from its collection and disclosure.
Under the proposed order resolving the FTC’s litigation, Kochava and its subsidiary, Collective Data Solutions (CDS), which has purportedly taken over Kochava’s data broker business, will be prohibited from selling, licensing, transferring, sharing or disclosing sensitive location data in any products or services unless they obtain a consumer’s affirmative express consent and the data is used to provide a service directly requested by the consumer.
The subsidiary and Kochava (if Kochava sells or uses precise location data) also are required to:
- Establish and implement a sensitive location data program to develop a comprehensive list of sensitive locations to prevent the sale, transfer or disclosure of sensitive location data;
On April 21, 2026, the New York Attorney General’s office announced that it has sued Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. (Coinbase) and Gemini, Titan LLC (Gemini) for allegedly illegally running gambling operations in New York through “their so-called ‘prediction market’ platforms.”
According to a New York Attorney General subpoena defense lawyer, allegations include that “both Coinbase and Gemini offer users the ability to bet on events, including sports, entertainment, and elections, in violation of New York laws.” As set forth in the announcement, “an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found that Coinbase and Gemini are running prediction markets that constitute illegal, unlicensed gambling operations.” The announcement goes on to allege that “these illegal operations expose New Yorkers – including those under the legal gambling age of 21 – to serious financial and personal risk
The NY OAG is seeking court orders requiring Coinbase and Gemini to pay fines, forfeit illegal profits, and pay restitution to customers.
“Gambling by another name is still gambling, and it is not exempt from regulation under our state laws and Constitution,” said Attorney General James. “Gemini and Coinbase’s so-called prediction markets are just illegal gambling operations, exposing young people to addictive platforms that lack the necessary guardrails. My office is taking action to protect New Yorkers and stop these platforms from violating the law.”
Prediction markets allow users to bet money on the outcome of a wide range of future events,
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 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.
Strike-through pricing is a popular marketing technique where a higher “regular” price is listed on marketing materials and crossed out immediately adjacent to a lower, “discounted” sale price. The practice is policed when “unfair or deceptive” by federal and state regulatory agencies, as well as private plaintiffs.
Marketers should consult with a strike through pricing lawyer to minimize exposure to legal regulatory action and class action claims.
FTC Deceptive Pricing Guides
Section 233.1 of the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing addresses comparison pricing.
First, it addresses former price comparisons. If the former price is the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time, it provides a legitimate basis for the advertising of a price comparison. Where the former price is genuine, the bargain being advertised is a true one. If, on the other hand, the former price being advertised is not bona fide but fictitious—for example, where an artificial, inflated price was established for the purpose of enabling the subsequent offer of a large reduction—the “bargain” being advertised is a false one; the purchaser is not receiving the unusual value he expects. In such a case, the “reduced” price is, in reality, probably just the seller’s regular price.
A former price is not necessarily fictitious merely because no sales at the advertised price were made. Advertisers should consult with a strike through pricing lawyer and take care,
Marketers that utilize Made in USA claims on their websites, Amazon listings and other marketing materials should take care not to overstate the extent to which certain products are made in the United States.
In most instances, unqualified U.S.-origin claims in marketing materials – including claims products are “Made” or “Built” in the USA – likely suggest to consumers that the advertised products are “all or virtually all” made in the United States.
Depending upon the content, the Federal Trade Commission may analyze a number of different factors to determine whether a product is “all or virtually all” made in the United States, including the proportion of total manufacturing costs attributable to U.S. parts and processing, how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product, and the importance of the foreign content or processing to the product’s overall function.
The “all or virtually all” standard is codified in the Made in USA Labeling Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 323 (the “MUSA Labeling Rule”). Effective August 13, 2021, it is a violation of the MUSA Labeling Rule to label any covered product “Made in the United States,” as the MUSA Labeling Rule defines that term, unless the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C.
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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 FTC compliance knowledge and more than 20 years of FTC defense 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.