Consumer Protection Connection
Keller and Heckman LLP

Consumer Protection
Connection

Sheila Millar

Subscribe to all posts by Sheila Millar

CPSC Continues Enforcing PPPA Requirements During COVID-19 Crisis

By Sheila Millar and Boaz Green on Posted in Product Safety
With millions of children home due to school closures, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued checklists with guidance on keeping homes safe during this period. Protecting children from accidental ingestion of potentially harmful products found in the home featured prominently in these documents. CPSC’s current focus on poison prevention continues a recent trend… Continue Reading

FTC Seeks Input on Energy Labeling for Portable Air Conditioners

By Sheila Millar and JC Walker on Posted in Advertising, Energy Efficiency
In a notice approved for publication in the Federal Register, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advised on March 27, 2020 that it is soliciting feedback on proposed new EnergyGuide label requirements for portable air conditioners. The FTC’s Energy Labeling Rule requires manufacturers to attach yellow EnergyGuide labels to major home appliances and other consumer products… Continue Reading

FTC and FDA Warn Companies About Coronavirus Treatment Claims

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Advertising, Product Safety
As fears escalate over the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), scared consumers may be more susceptible to claims by companies offering cure-all remedies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are aware and looking out for consumers. The two agencies sent joint warning letters to seven companies – Vital Silver, Quinessence Aromatherapy… Continue Reading

EPA’s Nancy Beck Nominated to Head CPSC

By Sheila Millar and Boaz Green on Posted in Product Safety
Some months after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official Nancy Beck was rumored to be the President’s choice to serve as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the news is now official. The White House announced Beck’s nomination on March 2, 2020. Beck’s nomination, if approved by the Senate, would bring the CPSC back… Continue Reading

UK ICO Finalizes Rules for Children’s Content

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Children, Privacy
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recently finalized its Age-appropriate design: a code of practice for online services (the code). The code applies to any “relevant information society services which are likely to be accessed by children” (by which the ICO means minors under age 18), whether designed for kids or general audiences. The new… Continue Reading

FTC Seeks Comments on Revamping its Endorsement Guides

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Advertising
At a time when influencers are making a living – and sometimes millions of dollars – for promoting everything from eye shadow to the latest smartphone, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reassessing its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the Guides). The Guides provide direction to businesses that use influencers… Continue Reading

Maker of Purell Draws FDA Warning and Lawsuit for Hand Sanitizer Disease Prevention Claims

By Sheila Millar on Posted in Advertising
GOJO Industries, the maker of Purell hand sanitizer, needs to clean up its advertising act according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA sent GOJO a letter on January 17, 2020 warning the company to stop making unsubstantiated claims about its hand sanitizers to avoid giving consumers the impression that they are… Continue Reading

NIST Solicits Comments on Revised Draft IoT Cybersecurity Device Guidance

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Privacy
On January 7, 2020, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a draft of revised cybersecurity recommendations for IoT devices at both the pre-market and post-market stages. NISTIR 8259, Recommendations for IoT Device Manufacturers: Foundational Activities and Core Device Cybersecurity Capability Baseline, identifies six voluntary steps manufacturers should take to account for security… Continue Reading

The EU Advocate General Opinion is Out: Standard Contractual Clauses are Valid

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Privacy
Businesses that rely on standard contractual clauses (SSCs) to transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) just got good news. The long-awaited decision from the EU Advocate General (AG) is here: SCCs are valid. The AG’s opinion, although non-binding, is significant for the case brought by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems against Facebook,… Continue Reading

FTC Gives Energy Labeling Rule a Facelift

By Sheila Millar, JC Walker and Boaz Green on Posted in Product Safety
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s Energy Labeling Rule has a new look. Following a public comment period, the FTC issued amendments to the Energy Labeling Rule that reorganize the Rule’s product descriptions and categories to make them clearer and simpler for stakeholders to understand and apply. But the FTC’s changes are cosmetic – the agency… Continue Reading

Reevaluating the COPPA Rule

By Sheila Millar on Posted in Privacy
In the two decades following the enactment of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule, technological developments have changed the online landscape considerably. Recognizing this, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public workshop on October 7, 2019, to discuss whether, given the proliferation of smart devices, video games, online channels, and EdTech, the Rule,… Continue Reading

Truly Organic? Not Really, Says FTC

By Sheila Millar on Posted in Labeling
Many consumers are drawn to products advertised as healthy and natural, and will often pay a premium for organic products, from foods to personal care items to clothing. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) takes a dim view of companies that don’t live up to their green promises. Case in point: Miami-based Truly Organic and… Continue Reading

What’s Next After Facebook’s Record $5 Billion Fine and Cambridge Analytica?

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Advertising, Data Privacy
Facebook is facing some big changes after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled with the social media giant over charges that it violated an earlier consent agreement. The company will pay a penalty of $5 billion, which is not only the biggest privacy fine in history, but also, according to FTC commissioner Noah Phillips, “almost… Continue Reading

Boaz Green Interviewed by Regulator Watch About the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Recent Enforcement Actions Against E-Liquids

By Sheila Millar on Posted in Regulations
As previously reported on Keller and Heckman’s The Continuum of Risk blog, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced that it considers flow restricted containers for nicotine-containing e-liquids to be required under the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 (CNPPA). Boaz Green was interviewed by Regulator Watch regarding CPSC’s recent enforcement actions, industry’s… Continue Reading

FTC and D-Link Settle Data Security Dispute

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Data Privacy
After protracted litigation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a proposed settlement with computer software manufacturer D-Link over charges that the company misrepresented the security of its wireless routers and Internet-connected cameras and failed to take reasonable software testing and remediation measures to protect the devices. As we previously reported, part of the FTC’s… Continue Reading

UK ICO Proposes GDPR Fines for British Airways and Marriott Data Breaches

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Data Security
Earlier this week, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced its intent to fine British Airways £183,390 million ($230 million) and its intent to fine Marriott International more than £99 million ($123 million) for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arising out of data breaches. The ICO investigated the breaches as the lead… Continue Reading

Sheila Millar Authors Law360 Article “UK’s Proposed Age-Appropriate Data Code Would Be Onerous”

By Sheila Millar on Posted in Data Security
In a recent Law360 article, Sheila Millar discusses a proposal from the British Information Commissioners Office (ICO) that significantly restricts how information society services deemed likely to be accessed by children must handle the data they collect, use, and share. In “UK’s Proposed Age-Appropriate Data Code Would Be Onerous” (July 3), she delves into how… Continue Reading

FTC Continues Enforcement of False Privacy Shield Claims

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Privacy
Nearly three years after the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework replaced the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor as a mechanism to transfer personal data from the European Union to the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to monitor companies’ claims regarding participation. As we previously reported, the FTC has taken actions against several companies over the… Continue Reading

FTC Settles Lax Data Security Charges with Software Seller

By Sheila Millar and Tracy Marshall on Posted in Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a proposed settlement with LightYear Dealer Technologies, LLC (aka DealerBuilt) on June 12, 2019, over allegations of lax consumer privacy protections. While no fines were levied, the order is remarkable for its detailed and extensive requirements governing the company’s future data privacy practices and the FTC’s role in… Continue Reading

E-Vapor Industry Coalition Formally Opposes CPSC Novel Interpretation of CNPPA that Immediately Requires Flow-Restricted Packaging for E-Liquids

By Azim Chowdhury, Sheila Millar and Boaz Green on Posted in Product Safety
As previously reported on Keller and Heckman’s “The Continuum of Risk” blog, earlier this year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that it was now reading the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act (CNPPA) to require nicotine e-liquid bottles to meet the “restricted flow requirement” in 16 C.F.R. § 1700.15(d), in addition to having child-resistant closures.… Continue Reading

Will NAS Report Prompt CPSC to Reconsider OFR Stance?

By Sheila Millar and Boaz Green on Posted in Product Safety
In 2015, a group of NGOs filed a petition with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), asking CPSC to ban additive, non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in four product categories: infant, toddler, or children’s products; upholstered furniture; mattresses; and plastic electronics’ casings. The petitioners argued that the entire chemical class is toxic and poses… Continue Reading
.
Consumer Protection Connection

We and our analytics and advertising providers may use cookies and similar technologies to enhance the browsing experience, facilitate sharing of content, and generate statistics about use of the website. For more information or to change your preferences, click here.

I Agree