President Donald Trump fired both Democratic commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission late on March 18. Now-former commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter both referred to their firings as "illegal."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its truth in advertising laws so that Chinese-made American flags aren't advertised as “Made in the USA” when they are listed for sale on e-commerce platforms.
A plaintiff representing a consumer advocacy group Aug. 16 filed a complaint against the company that sells products under the brand names Oreo, Toblerone and Cadbury chocolate for its use of child labor and poor environmental standards (Tim Gollogly v. Mondelez International, N.D. Ill. # 24-07368).
FTC on June 11 released final amendments to its trade regulation rule related to power output claims for amplifiers utilized in home entertainment products. The changes take effect Aug. 12. The amendments, which had undergone a public review and comment period, require sellers making power-related claims to calculate power output using uniform testing methods to allow consumers to easily compare amplifier sound quality; prescribe disclosure language that improves differentiation between power output claims that comply with the rule’s testing methods and those that do not; and modernize as well as clarify rule language considering these modifications. The amendments also formalize prior FTC guidance on applying the rule to multichannel amplifiers. FTC first promulgated the Amplifier Rule in 1974 to address sellers’ failure to provide essential pre-purchase information regarding the performance of home entertainment amplifiers.
Kitchenware retailer Williams-Sonoma agreed to pay $3.2 million in civil penalties and "stop making false and misleading claims about the origins of its products," settling a lawsuit brought in a California court, DOJ announced. The agency alleged that Williams-Sonoma violated a Federal Trade Commission administrative order barring the company from advertising wholly imported goods and goods containing "significant imported content" as being "Made in the USA" (U.S. v. Williams-Sonoma, N.D. Cal. # 24-02396).
The FTC is allowing more time for comments on proposed changes to its EnergyGuide labeling regulations, including new requirements for EnergyGuide labels on air cleaners, clothes dryers, “miscellaneous refrigeration products” and portable electric spas. The proposed rule, released Feb. 1 (see 2402010028), also would modify existing labels for clothes washers, televisions and “several heating products,” including instantaneous gas water heaters and pool heaters. Comments are now due April 19.
A consumer filed suit in New York on March 27 alleging that the aluminum foil brand Reynolds, which her complaint called “a staple of Americana,” harmed consumers by falsely advertising that its foil was made in the U.S. (Anaya Washington v. Reynolds Consumer Products LLC, S.D.N.Y. # 24-02327).
The FTC is amending EnergyGuide labeling requirements for televisions to update the comparability ranges listed on the labels, the agency said in a final rule released Feb. 1. The final rule takes effect May 2.
The FTC is proposing changes to its EnergyGuide labeling regulations, including new requirements for EnergyGuide labels on air cleaners, clothes dryers, “miscellaneous refrigeration products” and portable electric spas. The proposed rule, released Feb. 1, also would modify existing labels for clothes washers, televisions and “several heating products,” including instantaneous gas water heaters and pool heaters. Under the proposal, manufacturers of some products -- including refrigerator/freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, and air conditioners -- no longer would be required to affix an EnergyGuide label to the product itself but could instead ship the label along with the product. The retailer would be responsible for attaching the label. Manufacturers still would have to affix the label for showroom models. Comments are due April 2.
Texas company Kubota North America was ordered Jan. 25 to pay $2 million for falsely labeling replacement parts for tractors, mowers, utility vehicles, and construction and agricultural equipment as having been made in the U.S. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a stipulated judgment against the company, which included the penalty and compliance reporting and record-keeping requirements for the next 20 years (U.S. v. Kubota North America Corp., N.D. Tex. # 3:24-00159).