The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has issued several new proposals or policy statements affecting advertisers recently, including resurrection of its Penalty Offense Authority and an Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing (which we previously reported on here). The FTC is now seeking public feedback on a proposal to enhance and strengthen

Sheila A. Millar
Sheila A. Millar is a partner at Keller and Heckman LLP, where she represents businesses and trade associations on a variety of public policy and regulatory issues, including privacy, data security, cybersecurity and advertising matters, as well as product safety issues. She has been involved in a variety of audit and compliance projects, including, among other issues, privacy and data security audits, and is experienced in providing crisis management legal support to a variety of national and international companies and associations.
Ms. Millar is a frequent speaker on regulatory and public policy matters, and has authored many articles. Ms. Millar is one of the vice chairs of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Marketing and Advertising Commission, and chair of its Working Group on Sustainability, where she spearheaded the development of the ICC Framework Guides on Environmental Marketing Claims.
Ms. Millar is AV® PreeminentTM Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and for the eigth consecutive year was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2018 for her work in practicing Advertising Law. She has also received the distinguished honor of Advertising Law "Lawyer of the Year" 2014 in Washington, DC by Best Lawyers®, and was awarded Advertising and Marketing Lawyer of the Year USA by Finance Monthly for their Finance Monthly Global Awards 2017.
Senate Confirms Mary Boyle as 5th CPSC Commissioner
Nearly a year after she was first nominated, Mary Boyle was confirmed Wednesday to be a Commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). When she takes office for a term that will run through October 2025, Boyle will bring the Commission to its full five-member strength for the first time since 2019.
Boyle…
The State of U.S. State Privacy Laws: A Comparison
In the continuing absence of Congressional action on a comprehensive U.S. federal privacy law, five states have now enacted their own laws. We previously provided a summary of the California, Virginia, and Colorado laws (available here), and Connecticut and Utah have since enacted new privacy laws. The Connecticut Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and…
Bedoya Confirmed as Fifth FTC Commissioner; Congress Debates FTC Act Revisions
Alvaro Bedoya, a Democrat, was confirmed on May 11, 2022, to serve as the fifth Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). With the Senate deadlocked at 50-50 along partisan lines, Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. Bedoya replaces former Commissioner Rohit Chopra, who left the FTC last October to lead the Consumer…
FTC Brings First MUSA Rule Complaint Against Battery Manufacturer
In a complaint dated April 12, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought its first action under the new Made in USA Labeling Rule (the Rule) against Lithionics Battery LLC (Lithionics) and its owner, Steven Tartaglia, for falsely advertising Lithionics’ lithium-ion batteries as USA-made.
According to the FTC’s complaint, from at least 2018 until at…
CISA “Shields Up” Campaign Offers Practical Cybersecurity Guidance for Organizations
As cyberattacks from a myriad of sources continue to proliferate and target organizations of all types and sizes, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) continues to update its Shield’s Up webpage with specific cybersecurity guidance for organizations, CEOs, business leaders, and individuals. The stated goal is to “reduce the likelihood of a damaging cyber…
Is a Privacy Shield Replacement on the Horizon?
After the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield was rendered invalid by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in July 2020, and following a prior challenge to the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor, many businesses operating on both sides of the pond scrambled to find other ways to protect data flows between the EU and U.S. that…
WW International to Pay $1.5 Million Civil Penalty for Alleged COPPA Violations
In 2014, with childhood obesity on the rise in the United States, tech company Kurbo, Ltd. (Kurbo) marketed a free app for kids that, according to the company, was “designed to help kids and teens ages 8-17 reach a healthier weight.” When WW International (WW) (formerly Weight Watchers) acquired Kurbo in 2018, the app was…
Keurig Agrees to Pay $10 Million to Settle Class Action Over Charges of Misleading Recyclable Claims
On February 24, 2022, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig) agreed to pay $10 million to settle a long-running class action that alleged the coffee company deceptively advertised its K-Cups pods’ recyclability by misleadingly labeling and marketing them as “recyclable” when the pods were in fact not accepted for recycling in many areas. The settlement follows…
Fashion Nova Settles with FTC for $4.2 Million Over Charges it Omitted Negative Reviews
You might think that paying more than $9 million to settle charges of violating the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Mail Order Rule would have spurred clothing retailer Fashion Nova, LLC to review its consumer protection compliance posture. But for the second time in two years, Fashion Nova has found itself in trouble with the FTC,…