Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
In July 2024, a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s recently announced ban on noncompete clauses. Importantly, the injunction is limited to the plaintiff and intervenors in the lawsuit, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
What is the FTC NonCompete Ban?
In January 2023, the FTC announced a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to a ban on employers entering into and utilizing noncompete clauses. In April 2024, FTC commissioners voted on the final rule, including a limited exception for “senior executives.” The effective date for the new rule was anticipated to by September 2024.
FTC policy supporting the ban includes, without limitation, purported economic benefits that would result from banning noncompetes. A number of dissenting statements by Commissioners resulted in various challenges to the rule, and perhaps the federal court order referenced herein.
How has the FTC NonCompete Ban Rule Been Challenged?
Following the FTC adoption of the final rule, a Texas-based tax firm Ryan LLC filed various legal challenges in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. In doing so, the plaintiff sought a stay of the effective date and to preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the rule. Subsequently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sought almost identical relief in the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of itself and other business associations, ultimately intervening in the Ryan matter.
On June 18, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a statement regarding the agency’s referral to the Department of Justice a complaint against TikTok, the successor to Musical.ly, and its parent company ByteDance Ltd.
The FTC’s investigation of these companies began in connection with its order compliance review of Musical.ly following a 2019 settlement with the company for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The FTC also investigated additional potential violations of COPPA and the FTC Act, according to the statement.
The investigation uncovered reason to believe named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and that a proceeding is in the public interest, so the FTC has voted to refer a complaint to the DOJ, according to the procedures outlined in the FTC Act.
The FTC does not typically make public the fact that it has referred a complaint. Here, however, the agency states that it has “determined that doing so here is in the public
interest.”
Richard B. Newman is an FTC defense lawyer at Hinch Newman LLP. Follow FTC defense attorney on X.
Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. May be considered attorney advertising.
Investigatory procedures, including use of compulsory process, may be used by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawyers in connection with the spectrum of activities that the agency is authorized or required to carry out.
For What Purposes May FTC Investigations be Carried Out?
FTC Investigations may be conducted in connection with:
- law enforcement investigations
- adjudicatory or rulemaking activities
- determinations of compliance with agency cease and desist orders
- penalty or redress matters prior to filing a judicial complaint, and
- economic and other studies
In the event that compulsory process is used in an investigation to determine whether any person is or has been engaged in any unfair or deceptive acts or practices, the special civil investigative demand (CID) procedures of Section 20 of the Federal Trade Commission Act must be followed.
Are FTC Investigations Public?
As a general rule, the existence of an FTC investigation initiated in order to determine whether a statute for which the FTC enforces is being violated generally is not public. However, disclosure is permitted to potential witnesses or other third parties to the extent necessary to advance the investigation
Note that the existence of an investigation may become public if a respondent files a motion to quash or otherwise – under certain circumstances – discloses the existence thereof.
Bureau of Consumer Protection Investigations
The FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection utilizes an evaluation committee tasked with assessing proposals for enforcement matters.
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule effectively concluding that it is an unfair method of competition, and therefore a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, for employers to enter into non-competes with workers and to enforce certain non-competes.
Except for senior executives, the final rule provides that it shall be unlawful to enter or attempt to enter into a non-compete provision, enforce or attempt to enforce a non-compete provision, or represent that a worker is subject to a non-compete provision.
The final rule is set to become effective in September 2024. The FTC vote to approve the issuance of the final rule was 3-2 with Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson voting no. Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Alvaro Bedoya, Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson each issued separate statements.
How Does the Final Rule Define “Non-Compete?”
The final rule defines a “non-compete” provision as a term or condition of employment that prohibits a worker from, penalizes a worker for, or “functions to prevent” a worker from: (i) seeking or accepting work in the United States with a different person after the conclusion of their employment; or (ii) operating a business in the United States after the conclusion of their employment.
What is the Purpose of the FTC Non-Compete Rule?
The final rule is intended to promote competition by banning non-competes nationwide,
On April 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC’s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.
The report, directed by the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021, “Working Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys General” makes legislative recommendations that would enhance these efforts, including reinstating the FTC’s authority to seek money for defrauded consumers and providing it with the independent authority to seek civil penalties.
“Today’s consumer protection challenges require an all-hands-on-deck response, and our report details how the FTC is working closely with state enforcers to share information, stop fraud, and ensure fairness in the marketplace,” said FTC attorney Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We look forward to seeking new opportunities to strengthen these ties and confront the challenges of the future.”
In June 2023, the FTC announced a request for public information seeking public comments and suggestions on ways it can work more effectively with state attorneys general to help educated and protect consumers about and from deception and fraud. After reviewing and analyzing the comments received, the FTC developed the report to Congress.
The report is divided into three sections: (i) the FTC’s Existing Collaborative Efforts with State Attorneys General to Prevent, Publicize and Penalize Frauds and Scams; (ii) Recommended Best Practices to Enhance Collaboration;
On March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses and updating the rule’s recordkeeping requirements as a result of developments in technology and the marketplace.
FTC lawyers also announced a proposed rule that would provide the agency with significant new tools to combat tech support scams.
Both actions are part of the FTC’s current review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), which includes the Do Not Call Registry (DNC) rules and provisions banning nearly all telemarketing robocalls to consumers.
Importantly, the FTC also affirms the TSR’s prohibitions on robocalls using voice cloning technology.
“Today’s changes provide important new protections for small business and will help ensure that the FTC can take action against deceptive marketers who use AI robocalls and other emerging technology,” said FTC attorney Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We look forward to comments from the public on the additional proposals that would deter tech support scams and aid the Commission’s efforts to put money back into the pockets of defrauded consumers.”
The TSR became effective in 1995 and applies to virtually all “telemarketing” activities, both in the United States and international sales calls to consumers in the United States. The rule generally applies only to outbound calls made by telemarketers to consumers, with some exceptions, and protects consumers in a range of ways.
For example and without limitation,
The Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection welcomes an open dialogue with parties cooperating with its investigations. According to FTC lawyers, such dialogue allows the agency to make more informed decisions on whether to recommend an enforcement action and, if so, whether such an action can be resolved without the need for protracted litigation.
However, the Federal Trade Commission is also mindful of and believes that delays in investigations can undermine the public interest by allowing alleged lawbreaking to continue and by depriving consumers of redress for harms they may have suffered. Consequently, the FTC has made it clear that while substantive engagement is welcome and constructive, the FTC is prepared to pivot more quickly to litigation if undue delay comes at the expense of redress for consumers.
Delay causes particular concern to the agency in matters where the conduct extends beyond the statute of limitations period. In these cases, the FTC’s ability to provide refunds to injured consumers may be barred in whole or in part.
This risk has become more acute following the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC, 141 S. Ct. 1341 (2021). Because of AMG, the FTC can no longer seek monetary relief under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b), which does not have a statute of limitation. Instead, the FTC must often rely on Section 19, 15 U.S.C. § 57b, which authorizes courts to order defendants to provide redress only when violations occurred within three years of the initiation of the Commission’s action.
On October 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has agreed to a $3.4MM settlement with New Jersey for-profit Sollers College over alleged deceptive ads that lured prospective students into unlawful contracts, purportedly falsely touting relationships with prominent employers and inflating job placement rates. The charges were brought by the FTC and the state of New Jersey.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Sollers, and its parent company, used their website, social media, and email campaigns to falsely advertise their partnerships with prominent employers in the fields of information technology, clinical research and drug safety. According to the complaint, Sollers falsely claimed that its partnerships with prominent employers, such as Pfizer, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Infosys, resulted in jobs for its graduates at those companies. Many of the businesses featured on Sollers’ website had no partnership with the school at all, says the FTC.
The complaint states that, since at least 2018, Sollers advertised that the vast majority of Sollers graduates are placed in jobs. For example, the company purportedly advertised, “90% of our students are placed within 3 months of graduation,” on its website. In reality, the job placement rate for Sollers graduates is substantially lower than the 80 percent, 82 percent, 90 percent or “near perfect” rates featured prominently on its website and in its advertising campaigns, the FTC states. According to the FTC, the school’s own data suggests that the current job-placement rate for graduates of its Life Sciences programs remains as low as 52 percent.
On September 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has joined the Federal Communications Commission in signing a renewed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between public authorities who are members of the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet). The MOU aims to promote cross-border collaboration to combat unsolicited communications, including email and text spam, scams, and illegal telemarketing.
“The FTC is committed to using all of its tools to fight robocalls and other unsolicited communications that try to prey on consumers,” said FTC attorney and Chair Lina M. Khan. “This scourge does not respect borders, and our recommitment to this MOU underscores the importance of international communication and cooperation to combat this problem.”
UCENet members agreed to renew and make evergreen the MOU, a non-binding instrument which the FTC and its partners signed in 2016.
The 2016 MOU was aimed at facilitating information sharing, capacity building, and enforcement assistance among the partners. For the past seven years, it also has facilitated communication about emerging threats and complaint trends related to spam, scams, and illegal telemarketing.
The UCENET MOU is part of the FTC’s continuing to work to fight harms that can arise from unwanted messages. According to the announcement, unsolicited communications in the form of illegal and spoofed robocalls, text messages, and emails are often the source of scams that harm millions of consumers in the United States each year. The revised MOU also has been signed by UCENet partners in Canada,
On August 22, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that as a result of an FTC lawsuit, a federal court has temporarily shut down an alleged business opportunity scheme that purportedly lured consumers to invest $22 million in online stores, using alleged unfounded claims about income and profits.
The operators of Automators also claimed to use artificial intelligence to ensure success and profitability for consumers who agreed to invest with Automators, according to the agency.
In addition to offering consumers high return as “passive investors” in profitable e-stores, Automators, which previously used the names Empire and Onyx Distribution, also offered to teach consumers how to successfully set up and manage e-stores themselves using a “proven system” and the powers of artificial intelligence, according to the FTC.
“The defendants preyed on consumers looking to provide for their families with promises of high returns and the use of AI to power such returns,” said FTC attorney Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Their lies caused consumers to lose tens of thousands of dollars, with many losing their life savings. The FTC is working to hold defendants accountable and to secure redress for their victims.”
The FTC’s complaint against defendants Roman Cresto, John Cresto, and Andrew Chapman, through their companies Automators AI, Empire Ecommerce and Onyx Distribution, claims that the vast majority of defendants’ clients did not make the promised earnings or even recoup their investment. Instead, most clients allegedly lost significant amounts and Amazon and Walmart have routinely suspended or terminated the stores that defendants operated for repeated policy violations,
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About This Blog and Hinch Newman’s Advertising + Marketing Practice
Hinch Newman LLP’s advertising and marketing practice includes successfully resolving some of the highest-profile Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general digital advertising and telemarketing investigations and enforcement actions. The firm possesses superior knowledge and deep legal experience in the areas of advertising, marketing, lead generation, promotions, e-commerce, privacy and intellectual property law. Through these advertising and marketing law updates, Hinch Newman 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. This blog is sponsored by Hinch Newman LLP.