Ad Law News and Views February 9

February is a busy month for holidays and events! We have Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and of course, this weekend’s Super Bowl. Who will take home the Lombardi Trophy this year? We polled some of our Ad Law attorneys and here are our results:

If you plan to watch the main event, click here for some fun Super Bowl Bingo.

Speaking of events, be sure to check out our upcoming webinar next week!

UPCOMING WEBINAR

State Privacy Enforcement Do’s and Don’ts for 2024

February 13 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET

2024 is well underway and similarly to 2023, the year promises to be busy on the state privacy front. Comprehensive privacy laws are in the books in more than 25 percent of the U.S. states and new legislative efforts are underway in many other jurisdictions. Until now, state privacy law enforcement has taken place outside the public view in the form of informal inquiries, consumer complaints, and enforcement sweeps that have resulted in informal resolutions. It’s quite possible that we will see enforcers increase the pressure in 2024, including in the form of multistate investigations.

Join Kelley Drye’s Privacy & Information Security practice chair, Alysa Hutnik, and State Attorneys General practice chair, Paul Singer, for a webinar where topics include:

  • What public enforcement actions to expect
  • Best practices when receiving a civil investigative demand (CID)/subpoena from a state enforcer
  • Details on how state enforcers collaborate and pursue joint multistate enforcement
  • What not to do when you are contacted by a state enforcer

Speakers will also provide a recap of the California Lawyers Association Annual Privacy Summit, held in Los Angeles the week prior to this webinar.

Register Here.

IN THE NEWS AND LATEST UPDATES

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Commerce Proposes KYC and Other Cybersecurity Requirements on Cloud Services and AI Training

On January 29, 2024, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) introducing a Customer Identification Program (CIP) and other requirements applicable to U.S. providers and foreign resellers of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) products. The proposal also includes reporting requirements covering foreign transactions with U.S. cloud services to train ​“dual-use” AI foundational models that may enable malicious cyber activity. The NPRM implements Executive Orders addressing threats to U.S. critical infrastructure or national security posed by malicious, cyber-enabled activities.

FTC Announces $2 Million Penalty over Made in USA Claims

I’ve never owned a tractor, but based on Kenny Chesney’s 1999 hit She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy, I understand that some people find them to be quite alluring. (The same goes for farmer’s tans, but that’s more relevant to this post.) It’s not clear whether Kenny’s girlfriend was particularly attracted to American-made tractors, but some people are. That’s why Kubota Tractor Corporation used to label their tractors as ​“Made in USA.”

Maryland’s New Telemarketing Law Now in Effect

As of January 1, 2024, the State of Maryland’s new telemarketing law, the ​“Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023,” officially became law.

What We Learned from … New York

As New York lawmakers consider legislation that would give the Attorney General broad new powers to target ​“unfair” trade practices, we brought the first installment of our 2024 Attorney General Webinar Series to the Empire State.

New York AG Supports Legislation to Broaden Consumer Protection Powers

New York Attorney General Letitia James joined Kelley Drye for its January State AG webinar to discuss consumer protection in the Empire State and her support for legislative reform that would grant the AG’s Office new powers to target ​“unfair” business practices.

Update on FCC’s 1:1 TCPA Consent and Do-Not-Text Rules

As an update to our earlier blog post detailing the FCC’s recent order adopting new regulations pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the FCC has announced the rolling effective dates for the specific rule changes.

AGs, AI, and Robocalls

Two of the hottest consumer protection topics for state attorneys general (AGs) are robocalls and artificial intelligence (AI). AGs have been prioritizing the fight against robocalls for many years, and AI seems to be on the agenda of nearly every AG conference in recent memory. These two consumer protection issues have intersected in the FCC’s notice of inquiry (NOI) which sought comment to better understand the impact of emerging AI technologies on robocalls and robotexts. Because these two issues are a priority with many AGs, it is not surprising that a bipartisan group of 26 AGs took this opportunity to provide comments.

Hidden Fees Aren’t Sexy

It’s a well-known principle (amongst those who practice in certain professions) that if you’re trying to make something sexy, you generally don’t want to reveal everything all at once. Instead, it can be better to reveal things slowly, leaving things to the audience’s imagination, and letting expectations build up before the big moment. Of course, that strategy can backfire if what you ultimately reveal ends up being disappointing to the viewer.

Massachusetts AG Secures $3.5 Million Settlement Against Grubhub

Massachusetts AG Andrea Joy Campbell recently announced that Grubhub, one of the nation’s most prominent food delivery platforms, will pay more than $3.5 million to settle claims that it overcharged restaurants in violation of a specific emergency fee cap imposed during the pandemic.