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BNA:  Extended Auto Warranties Robocaller Is Barred Permanently from Telemarketing

After repeated offenses, a robocaller stipulates to a permanent ban from telemarketing and from making false or misleading representations while selling any goods or services, according to a consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (FTC v. Khalilian, S.D. Fla., No. 10-21788, 1/6/11).

FTC.gov:  FTC Settlement Ends "Tested Green" Certifications That Were Neither Tested Nor Green 

Company Allegedly Charged Up To $549.95 for Worthless Environmental Labels

The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement that will put an end to the deceptive tactics of a company that allegedly sold worthless environmental certifications for hundreds of dollars, and falsely told more than 100 customers that its certifications were endorsed by two independent firms – which it actually owned. The FTC settlement bars Tested Green and its owner Jeremy Ryan Claeys from making misrepresentations when selling any product.

Adweek:  Web Privacy Self-Regulation Accelerates VivaKi joins GroupM in bringing clients into compliance with online privacy program

Hoping to ward off government regulation, the online advertising industry's self-regulatory privacy program is picking up steam.

Internet Retailer:  20% of e-mail sent by retailers is opened on a mobile device, Knotice study reports

And it’s iPhone users who are the most voracious mobile e-mail readers.

One out of every five marketing e-mails a retailer sends is opened on a mobile device, shows a new study of millions of e-mail messages from direct digital marketing firm Knotice. Users of the iPhone represented the most avid mobile e-mail readers. And mobile readers typically view their messages early in the morning or late at night, the study finds.

Mediapost:  Blogs Drive Beauty Product Purchases

Despite increasingly close ties between brands and bloggers, many have asked whether such partnerships bear financial fruit. The answer, according to women's media network BlogHer, is a resounding 'Yes!'  

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Reed Smith attorney Brad Newberg recently wrote on the topic of "Use of 'bots' in Game Play Questionable Under Copyright Law." This article first appeared on our sister-blog, Legal Bytes, and subsequently in the Media & Entertainment – USA newsletter of the International Law Office (ILO). The article can be accessed here. Joe Rosenbaum was involved in editing the article. Of course, if you have questions or need help or more information, feel fee to contact Brad Newberg directly.

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This post was written by Edgar Hidalgo.

The online behavioral advertising sector received a rude awakening at the end of 2010 from unsatisfied federal regulators. Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce published reports espousing increased regulation of online behavioral advertising – the former report encouraging Congress to consider a “Do Not Track” regime and the latter expressing an arguably more favorable stance on industry self-regulation. Similarly, legislators on one side of the aisle have introduced online privacy legislation, and those on the other side have at least intimated interest in the issue. Thus, it comes as no surprise that just three weeks into 2011, the advertising industry has taken steps to strengthen its collective effort at keeping the government at bay and beefing up its self-regulation arsenal.

On Tuesday, January 18, the president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, Bob Liodice, reached out to the association’s members in direct response to the FTC’s report. Via email, Liodice encouraged the ANA members to adopt privacy best practices and the self-regulation program the association and its progeny, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), published and implemented in the past two years. Additionally, the email was accompanied by a newly drafted toolkit geared to facilitating compliance with these best practices. (The email and toolkit can be seen in full here.)

Right on the heels of the ANA’s outreach, on Thursday, January 20, the DAA announced its approval of a third trustmark privacy platform provider, TRUSTe and its TRUSTed Ads platform. TRUSTe joins DoubleVerify and Evidon as the third approved provider of consumer privacy icons and platforms. These icons and platforms form a significant piece of the DAA’s self-regulation program that seeks to appease privacy concerns by giving consumers clear disclosures on how data collected through ad is used, as well as providing them with opt-out mechanisms. (More details on the DAA program can be found at http://www.aboutads.info/home/.) To encourage advertiser compliance with the DAA’s self-regulation program, TRUSTe is offering its platform for free on a trial basis. With more trustmark ad platform options, the DAA can expect to gain additional buy-in from online advertisers.

While commentary on the FTC report does not close until the end of this month, regulators have clearly presented the ad industry with strong incentives to speed up its self-regulation efforts – and thus far, the industry seems to be responding swiftly.

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NY Times:  1986 Privacy Law Is Outrun by the Web

Concerned by the wave of requests for customer data from law enforcement agencies, Google last year set up an online tool showing the frequency of these requests in various countries. In the first half of 2010, it counted more than 4,200 in the United States.

Nasdaq:  US Supreme Court To Consider Limits On Data Mining Of Drug Records

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide the constitutionality of a Vermont law that restricts the sale or use of doctors' prescription data for marketing purposes by drug companies.

Press of Atlantic City:  Christie signs state law allowing ads on school buses 

Gov. Chris Christie enacted a law Thursday allowing advertisements on school buses.

Environmental Leader:  Italy Carries Out Plastic Bag Ban

Italy has banned the distribution of non-biodegradable plastic bags at shops and retail points.

Reuters:  Newer tobacco products to face FDA review

Cigarette makers will have to provide U.S. regulators with detailed information about the ingredients and design of products they have introduced or changed since early 2007, or face possible penalties.

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Attached is an update from JPC counsel regarding the sending of take down notices to signatories by the unions in response to claims of unauthorized use of commercials on the internet. Also attached is a copy of the letter from SAG and AFTRA to the JPC confirming same.

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As data privacy heats up on this side of the pond, last week the UK government announced a package of measures focused on extending the scope of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and strengthening the independence of the UK’s data protection and freedom of information regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The anticipated Freedom Bill (to be published in February 2011) will include proposals to extend the scope of FOIA to a number of organisations for the first time. The Government announced the definite inclusion of the Financial Ombudsman Service and has proposed including The Advertising Standards Authority, The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, The Law Society, Bar Council and other approved regulators under the Legal Services Act 2007, subject to consultation.

Reed Smith's entire alert on this development, written by Nick Tyler and Cynthia O'Donoghue, can be accessed here.

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Excite News:  Virginia tobacco maker seeks new FDA designation

Tobacco maker Star Scientific Inc. says it has developed a moist smokeless tobacco with lower levels of cancer-causing chemicals than any other tobacco product now on the market.

Broadcasting& Cable:  Rasmussen Poll Finds Little Support For Net Regs

MAP says report misses mark as gauge for support of new FCC rules

According to a just-released Rasmussen Report, only 21% of the respondents want the FCC to regulate the Internet.

Environmental Leader:  Fiji Water Targeted in ‘Greenwashing’ Class Action Suit

Fiji Water Company has been named in a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif. that alleges the company has profited by greenwashing claims that it’s water products are carbon negative—which means that the production, packaging and shipment of the water removes more carbon pollution from the atmosphere than it releases into it.

NY Times:  Judge Rejects City Law on Antismoking Posters

A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a New York City law that would have forced all bodegas and convenience stores to post gruesome images of diseased lungs, brains and teeth in the shops to discourage people from buying cigarettes.

BNA:  Obama Signs Measure Targeting ‘Aggressive' Online Sales Tactics

President Obama Dec. 29 signed a bill outlawing a set of online sales practices that were examined in a Senate investigation and deemed to be aggressive and harmful to consumers.

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Learn how the digital revolution is changing the advertising landscape.

How are you coping with the new regulations in the digital revolution? Is self-regulation or governmental intervention the way of the future in online advertising?

Get counseled at digital speed from experts like Edith Ramirez, commissioner of the FTC, Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas, Stu Ingis, partner at Venable LLP, and Lee Peeler, president and chief executive officer at the National Advertising Review Council. Digest the digital ad space as you listen to an expert panel moderated by Professor Rebecca Tushnet of Georgetown University Law Center link new media and the future of advertising together.

Be sure to sign up before January 15, 2011, to receive the discounted early-bird rate.

CLE will be provided. To view the complete list of speakers, please visit our website.

Details:

Date: March 15-16, 2011
Location: Park Hyatt 24th & M Streets, NW Washington, DC
Member rate: $895*
Nonmember rate: $1,095*
Register: For additional industry experts, agenda details, and to register visit our website or email registration@ana.net.

*Early bird pricing is only in effect through 1/15/2011. Prices will increase by $200.

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