Commentary The promise of franchise businesses is that any schmuck with the money to buy one, the grit to do it, and the extraordinary work ethic required to run a business can be successful—and even become wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. No highfalutin Ivy League college degree (let alone an MBA!) to succeed in business;…

Twitter CEO Elon Musk said he was stunned after learning that the U.S. government had “full access” to users’ private direct messages (DMs). Musk, who took over Twitter in October last year in a $44 billion deal, made the comments in a recent interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, which is due to air on…

A Supreme Court ruling on April 14 made it easier to challenge the reach of two powerful federal agencies—the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In its new red tape-cutting decision that is a defeat for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court took steps to rein in the…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hosting a public forum to examine its proposed ban on non-compete clauses. The virtual forum will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT on Feb. 16 and will be broadcast on the FTC’s website, transcribed, posted online, and made part of the public record. According to the commission’s Feb. 2…

Just before testifying at an open meeting of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tursday, Farm Action, a nonprofit campaigning against corporate influence in the farm industry, sent a letter urging the FTC “to promptly open an investigation into the egg industry” (pdf). The price of eggs has skyrocketed in recent months, with prices up…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report Thursday about how companies deploy “dark patterns” in advertising for enticing potential customers, manipulating them into making purchases and giving up their privacy in the process. “Our report shows how more and more companies are using digital dark patterns to trick people into buying products and giving…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Tuesday that it has sued Walmart for allegedly allowing its money transfer services to be used for fraud, enabling scammers to con people out of hundreds of millions of dollars. In the lawsuit (pdf), the retail giant is accused of turning a blind eye through failure to properly secure…

More than 46,000 American consumers have officially reported a total loss of $1 billion in cryptocurrency to fraud from January 2021 through March 2022, according to a new June 3 report from the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC reported that the data is based on fraud reports made directly to the agency, which means that…

Fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova has been fined over $4 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that it concealed negative customer reviews of its products. In a complaint, the FTC alleged that between late 2015 and November 2019, the California-based retailer used a third-party online product review management interface to automatically post four- and five-star reviews to…

The FTC has voted to issue special orders directing nine large U.S. retailers and wholesalers to explain the reasons behind the ongoing supply chain crisis and how these disruptions are resulting in “serious and ongoing hardships for consumers” and harming competition in the economy. Under Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act—which gives…