Louisiana Increases Penalties for Violations of State's Caller-ID Spoofing Laws

Last week, Louisiana's new "Anti-Caller ID Spoofing Act" went into effect. The Act makes it illegal for a caller to "knowingly insert false information into a caller identification system with the intent to mislead, defraud, deceive, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value." The new law gives the Attorney General the authority to seek fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Additionally, consumers can now sue marketers under a new private right of action. While the amount that they can sue for isn't specified, the new law indicates that consumers can sue for, "injunctive relief, treble damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees." Read the text of the new law, indicating the exact changes from the old law, here. Learn about how to respond to an Attorney General. Learn more about telemarketing regulations. Consider consulting with a telemarketing attorney if you are worried that you aren't in full compliance with telemarketing laws.

Uber Facing TCPA Class Action

The popular ride sharing app Uber is facing a TCPA class action lawsuit after they allegedly send over 30 marketing text messages to a man after he opted out from receiving additional messages. The case is Shelton Bollinger v. Uber Technologies Inc. Bollinger alleges that the text messages were disruptive to his life as they were received early in the morning or late at night. Read more information about this case here. To avoid being sued in a lawsuit like this, make sure you are in compliance with all telemarketing rules. To avoid getting in trouble for telemarketing violations, be sure to understand autodialer laws, robocall laws, do not call regulations, and telemarketing license requirements. Telemarketing fines could await you if you don't practice full telemarketing compliance.

 

FTC Approves Revisions to Jewelry Guides

The FTC has approved significant revisions to its "Guide for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries." The goal of the revisions was to further prevent deception in jewelry marketing. A brief summary of the changes from the FTC's press release is as follows:

Using comments and information obtained during a June 2013 public roundtable, in January 2016, the agency proposed, and sought public comments on, revisions to the Guides regarding below-threshold alloys, precious metal content of products containing more than one precious metal, surface application of precious metals, lead-glass filled stones, “cultured” diamonds, treated pearls, varietals, and misuse of the word “gem.”

Based on the overall record, the Commission has approved revisions to help align the Jewelry Guides with Section 5 of the FTC Act by tying guidance to consumer expectations, and to address technological developments and related changes in industry practice, providing needed clarification and greater flexibility for businesses.

Specifically, the revisions address (1) surface application of precious metals, (2) alloys with precious metals in amounts below minimum thresholds, (3) products containing more than one precious metal, (4) composite gemstone products, (5) varietals, (6) “cultured” diamonds, (7) qualifying claims about man-made gemstone products, (8) pearl treatment disclosures, (9) use of the term “gem,” (10) misleading illustrations, (11) the definition of “diamond,” and (12) exemptions recognized in the assay for gold, silver, and platinum.

Read the full FTC press release here.

FTC Returns Money to Consumers Targeted by Alleged Debt Collection Scheme

Nearly 600 checks totaling over $184,000 will be sent to consumers who were allegedly deceived by defendant Delaware Solutions into paying phony debts. The defendants agreed to the financial settlement and they have been banned from the debt collection industry. Read the full press release about this issue here.