According to a recent investigation by the team at Nerd Wallet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture “fails at regulation of organic food as fraudulent products overwhelm the agency’s conflicted, compromised system.”  For anyone who buys organic and expects to get what they pay for, this is must read. The USDA’s Organic Certification Program: A Litany of […]

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Taiwan-based computer networking equipment manufacturer D-Link Corporation and its U.S. subsidiary, alleging that inadequate security measures taken by the company left its wireless routers and Internet cameras vulnerable to hackers and put U.S. consumers’ privacy at risk. The FTC charged that D-Link failed to take reasonable steps […]

The complaint alleges that Unilever deceptively informed and led its customers to believe that its Pure Leaf Iced Tea, sold in a variety of flavors, is “All Natural,” despite containing unnatural ingredients, which are synthetic, artificial, and/or genetically modified, including but not limited to Citric Acid and/or “Natural Flavor.” Complaint

Information from at least 500 million Yahoo accounts was stolen from the company in 2014, the company said Thursday, indicating it believes a state-sponsored actor was behind the hack. The theft may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers This is […]

In June, Education Dept. staff and an advisory panel each voted in favor revoking ACICS’s accreditation. That decision has now been finalized by a Department of Education senior designated official, was made based on findings that the organization failed to properly monitor and discipline the colleges it oversees. The ACICS came under increased scrutiny after […]

On June 21, 2016, the FDA sent Popsalot, LLC a warning letter stating that its “Moroccan Mystique” gourmet flavored popcorn product is misbranded and its labeling false or misleading because the product bears the claim “gluten-free” but fails to comply with the definition of “gluten-free” [21 CPR 101.91(a)]. The FDA analyzed the product and found […]

  According to the law, an eye doctor must give the consumer a contact lens prescription after a fitting. It’s the law. The Contact Lens Rule is intended to facilitate the ability of consumers to comparison shop for contact lenses while ensuring that sales occur only in accordance with a valid prescription.  Under the Rule, […]

In a recent post by Seena Gressin, Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, we get a glimpse of the FTC’s view of “natural” For lovers of word-association games: what words leap to mind when you think of “all natural” ingredients? Did you pick “Dimethicone,” “Phenoxyethanol,” or “Polyethylene”? Perhaps “Butyloctyl alicylate,” “Polyquaternium-37,” or “Neopentyl Glycol […]

  The FTC Issued warning letters to app developers using ‘Silverpush’ code — a piece of software that can monitor a device’s microphone to listen for audio signals that are embedded in television advertisements. The software is designed to monitor consumers’ television use through the use of “audio beacons” emitted by TVs, which consumers can’t […]

  In a letter to manufacturers of hoverboards the CPSC called on makers and sellers to voluntarily take hoverboards off the market until they can be certified as safe by UL, the independent testing firm widely used by U.S. electronics manufacturers and failure to do so could lead to prosecution.  CPSC Letter 2-18-16 This announcement […]