Susan Ross (US)

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Social media apps, CDA section 230, and products liability

By Will Troutman (US) and Susan Ross (US) on May 19, 2021 Posted in General

Earlier this month, we saw an eye-opening Ninth Circuit opinion regarding products liability theories applied to social media apps. In short, the Ninth Circuit held section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not shield the owner of a social media app from liability for third party content when the dispute involves the design of … Continue reading

Retailers must upgrade online credit card processing security by June 30

By Susan Ross (US) on June 21, 2018 Posted in General

By June 30, 2018, retailers accepting digital (online) credit card transactions must cease using encryption protocols known as SSL or TLS 1.0. Retailers must transition to TLS 1.1 or higher (such as the popular TLS 1.2) or else lose the ability to accept credit card payments. Note also that Nevada law requires compliance with the … Continue reading

New PCI requirements for retailers

By Susan Ross (US) on July 11, 2016 Posted in General, Recent legislation and regulations

For retailers that accept credit or debit cards and use service providers, a new version of the PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS v3.2) will impose new requirements as of November 1, 2016. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council issued “clarifications” and “evolving requirements” in the new version. Clarifications are changes to ensure … Continue reading

Update: FTC gets $13.4 million judgment against BlueHippo

By Susan Ross (US) on June 30, 2016 Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Recent consumer products case law

Updating a prior post, on May 2, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its receipt of a $13.4 million judgment against the CEO of BlueHippo, after the Second Circuit overturned the district court’s determination that BlueHippo’s damages were limited to $600,000 in 2014. BlueHippo marketed computers and electronics to consumers regardless of their … Continue reading

President Obama signs new online warranty law

By Susan Ross (US) on September 30, 2015 Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Recent legislation and regulations

President Obama has signed the E-Warranty Act of 2015 (PL 114-51). The new law amends the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvements Act (15 USC § 2302(b)) by permitting (not requiring) consumer product warranties to be made available online. If a consumer product manufacturer elects to make product warranties available online, the manufacturer will be subject to … Continue reading

Transaction declined: are you ready for credit card chips?

By Susan Ross (US) on August 20, 2015 Posted in Recent legislation and regulations

By October 1, 2015, many people in the U.S. who use credit cards will likely notice changes when they pay for purchases at retail stores. The reason for the change is the “EMV liability shift” scheduled to occur on October 1 (EMV is an acronym for EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa). As we had previously described, … Continue reading

Don’t tell bloggers about NAD wins

By Susan Ross (US) on October 27, 2014 Posted in Federal Trade Commission

If a company sues a competitor about an advertisement that the company believes is false or misleading about the company’s product, a court victory is frequently cause for a press release, as well as announcements on social media and to bloggers. When the complaint is made to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council … Continue reading

The FTC & Bitcoin mining computers

By Susan Ross (US) on October 1, 2014 Posted in Federal Trade Commission

On September 18, 2014, a federal trial court in Missouri granted the Federal Trade Commission’s ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order, asset freeze, and appointment of a receiver for Butterfly Labs. Butterfly Labs made claims on its web site and on social media that its computers enabled consumers to “mine” a type of … Continue reading

FTC and presumption of consumer reliance

By Susan Ross (US) on September 12, 2014 Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Recent consumer products case law

Question: What’s the difference between $600,000 and $14 million in a contempt action? Answer: Presumption of consumer reliance, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Federal Trade Commission v. BlueHippo Funding, LLC. The case began in 2003, when BlueHippo first began marketing computers and electronic products to consumers regardless of their credit history. … Continue reading