FTC-2501

JCAP101.com - FTC-NEWS-2501FTC-PR-2501 (Federal Trade Commission News – March, 2025) (2025)

FTC-PR-2501 – The FTC’s mission is protecting the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and from unfair methods of competition through law enforcement, advocacy, research, and education.

Source:  https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases?items_per_page=20&search=&date_range%5Bmin%5D=2025-01-01&date_range%5Bmax%5D=2025-01-31&field_competition_topics=All&field_consumer_protection_topics=All&field_industry_target_id=All

January 28, 2025

  • FTC Sends Refunds to Consumers Affected by Fashion Nova’s Deceptive Review Practices
    • The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling nearly $2.4 million to consumers who bought products from fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova, which the FTC alleged blocked negative reviews of its products from being posted on its website.
    • The FTC alleged in January 2022 that Fashion Nova misrepresented that the product reviews on its website reflected the views of all customers who submitted reviews, when in fact it suppressed reviews with ratings lower than four stars out of five. It was the FTC’s first case involving efforts to conceal negative customer reviews.
    • Fashion Nova agreed to a settlement order that prohibits the company from suppressing customer reviews of its products. Fashion Nova was also required to pay money to compensate affected consumers.
    • The FTC is sending checks and PayPal payments to 148,351 Fashion Nova customers who filed a valid claim. Consumers selected their payment method when they completed their claim form. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check, or redeem their PayPal payments within 30 days.
    • Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 855-678-0018 or visit the FTC’s website to view frequently asked questions about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.
    • The Commission’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023, FTC actions led to $330 million in refunds to consumers across the country.

  • FTC Grants Chairman Ferguson Authority to Comply with President Trump’s Orders to End DEI
    • The Federal Trade Commission approved a motion to give Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson authority needed to comply with President Trump’s executive orders ending DEI across the federal government.
    • On Wednesday, Chairman Ferguson announced a series of actions that decisively put an end to the pernicious ideology of DEI at the FTC. Since some DEI-related directives, documents, or programs may require Commission votes to end, he announced that the Commission would be considering a motion to delegate to the Chairman the authority to bring the Commission into full compliance with President Trump’s orders.
    • Today, a motion to grant that authority to the Chairman was approved by a vote of 2-1-2. Commissioners Rebecca K. Slaughter and Lina M. Khan did not participate. Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya voted no and issued a dissenting statement. Chairman Ferguson issued a statement joined by Commissioner Holyoak. Commissioner Slaughter also issued a separate statement.
    • Chairman Ferguson will exercise this authority to comply with President Trump’s orders.

  • FTC Chairman Ferguson Announces that DEI is Over at the FTC
    • Today, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson announced that the agency is delivering on the promise that President Trump made to the American people and issued the following statement:
      • DEI is a scourge on our institutions. It denies to all Americans the Constitution’s promise of equality before the law. It divides people into castes on the basis of immutable characteristics, and treats them as caste members rather than as individuals. It stokes tensions by elevating race and other immutable characteristics above merit and excellence. It promotes invidious discrimination. And it violates federal and natural law.
      • The Biden-Harris Administration reveled in this pernicious ideology. They encouraged it, and it has festered within the federal government for four years.
      • No more. President Trump was elected on a promise to confront this dangerous ideology and free the federal government from this illegal and discriminatory practice. Within hours of his inauguration, he delivered on this promise to the American people. He issued three executive orders entitled Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, and Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. Those three orders collectively terminate DEI-related activities and programs within the federal government. In doing so, President Trump is enforcing federal civil rights laws, protecting equality before the law, and adhering to the Constitution.
  • FTC Seeks Public Comments on Enbridge Inc.’s Petition to Set Aside 2017 Order
    • The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition by Enbridge Inc. requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order issued in 2017 regarding Enbridge’s merger with energy infrastructure company Spectra Energy Corp.
    • The FTC’s 2017 order with Enbridge settled charges alleging that the proposed merger between Enbridge and Spectra would harm competition in the market for pipeline transportation of natural gas in three production areas off the coast of Louisiana. The FTC’s complaint alleged the merger likely would reduce natural gas pipeline competition within the Green Canyon, Walker Ridge, and Keathley Canyon production areas in the Gulf of Mexico because, after the acquisition, Enbridge would have an indirect ownership interest in the Discovery pipeline, the main competitor to Enbridge’s own Walker Ridge pipeline.
    • Under the final consent order Enbridge was required to establish firewalls to limit its access to non-public information about the Discovery pipeline. Also, with two limited exceptions, board members of the Spectra-affiliated companies that hold a 40 percent share in the Discovery pipeline are required to recuse themselves from any vote involving the pipeline.
    • In the petition, Enbridge has asked the Commission to reopen and set aside the 2017 order since it no longer holds an indirect ownership interest in the Discovery pipeline. In 2024, Enbridge exited the partnership that gave it an indirect ownership interest in Discovery. As a result, Enbridge no longer has access to the Discovery pipeline’s competitively sensitive information, nor does it have an ability to influence decisions concerning the Discovery pipeline, according to the petition. Thus, the petition requests that the Commission should reopen and set aside the order.
    • Comments on Enbridge’s application must be filed by February 21, 2025, through regulations.gov. Instructions for filing comments appear on the docket. Once processed, they will be posted on Regulations.gov. After the comment period closes, the Commission will vote on whether to approve the application.
  • Andrew N. Ferguson Takes Over as FTC Chairman
    • Andrew N. Ferguson was officially designated as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission by President Trump on Monday, January 20, 2025.
    • “I am honored that President Trump chose me to lead the Federal Trade Commission,” said Chairman Ferguson. “Under the President’s leadership, we will end the previous administration’s assault on the American way of life, and we will usher in a new Golden Age for American businesses, workers, and consumers.”
  • FTC Sends More Than $5 Million in Refunds to Consumers Harmed by Bogus Debt Relief Scheme
    • The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5 million in refunds to consumers harmed by a deceptive credit card debt relief scheme known as ACRO Services.
    • The FTC filed a lawsuit in November 2022 against ACRO Services, which operated under multiple names such as American Consumer Rights Organization, Consumer Protection Resources, Reliance Solutions, Thacker & Associates, and Tri Star Consumer Group. The complaint charged the company and its owners with running a deceptive telemarketing operation that made numerous phony debt relief promises to consumers, including that they could greatly reduce or eliminate consumers’ credit card debt in 12 to 18 months. They charged consumers thousands of dollars in unlawful upfront enrollment fees and told them it was part of the debt that will be eliminated as part of the program. Consumers were also charged monthly fees ranging from $20-$35 for “credit monitoring” services.
    • The individual defendants agreed to a settlement order that permanently bans them from the debt relief and telemarketing industries and required them to surrender assets to be used to refund consumers. The funds in this distribution also came from the FTC’s case against payment processor BlueSnap, which provided services to, and profited from, the ACRO Services scheme.
    • The FTC is sending checks to 7,687 consumers. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 877-753-2846, or visit the FTC website to view frequently asked questions about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.
    • The Commission’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023, FTC actions led to $330 million in refunds to consumers across the country.
Updated: March 26, 2025 at 8:39 pm