The Advertising Law Blog provides commentary and news on developing legal issues in advertising, promotional marketing, Internet, and privacy law. This blog is sponsored by the Advertising, Marketing & Promotions group at Olshan. The practice is geared to servicing the needs of the advertising, promotional marketing, and digital industries with a commitment to providing personal, efficient and effective legal service.
FTC Chairman Joe Simons has released a statement addressing the FTC’s ongoing efforts to enforce consumer protections laws during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sponsors and promoters of sweepstakes are facing the decision as to whether to cancel or postpone planned promotions due to COVID-19. With respect to promotions that have already been registered and bonded in Florida, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs (“FDACS”) has provided certain advice as to how these promotions will be treated. The FDACS has advised that there will be no refunds of filing fees in the event a promotion is cancelled due to COVID-19. However, if revisions to the Official Rules are required due to COVID-19, the FDACS has agreed to waive late penalties. In addition, the FDACS will permit substitution of trip or sports related prizes due to COVID-19.
With the federal government and most states under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, telemarketers should be aware of laws that restrict telemarketing calls during a state of emergency.
As many businesses may be aware by now, California recently enacted sweeping new laws governing the collection, use and management of personal information. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that went into effect on January 1, 2020 has many businesses struggling to understand the application of the law and exactly what a business needs to do to comply. In an effort to clarify some aspects of the law, California issued draft regulations in October 2019 that provided some guidance to businesses, and those draft regulations continue to be revised as late as March 11, 2020. While still not finalized, the revised CCPA draft regulations offer some clarification, and open up more questions, on certain issues.
The stage for legality of digital fantasy sports for money has again gone dark in New York following the February 6, 2020 ruling issued New York appellate court. The appellate court’s ruling delivers yet another setback for companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, both highly successful digital sports entertainment.
Oral arguments held in Liu v. SEC