Marketing & Creative

The FTC settled with Cox Media Group and two reseller marketing firms in May 2026 over an "Active Listening" product sold to small businesses as AI that targeted ads from smart-device conversations. The FTC found it used no voice data at all and was resold data-broker email lists.

The FTC charged Rytr in September 2024 over an AI writing tool whose "Testimonial & Review" feature could generate unlimited fake reviews, which subscribers used to produce tens of thousands of them. A final order followed in December 2024. That order was reportedly set aside in December 2025.

The FTC required accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims its AI accessibility widget could make any website WCAG compliant, and over paid third-party articles formatted to look like independent reviews. In one instance it paid $1,900 for a review and approved it before publication.

The FTC charged that GGL Projects, doing business as Sitejabber, misrepresented that ratings and reviews came from customers who had received or experienced products, inflating ratings and review counts. The FTC finalized a consent order restricting those claims.

The FTC and seven states alleged that Google and iHeartMedia aired nearly 29,000 first-person radio endorsements of the Pixel 4 by presenters who had not been given the phone before recording. State judgments require $9.4 million in penalties.

The FTC alleged that Hubble failed to obtain and verify contact lens prescriptions and substituted its own lenses for those prescribed, and did not disclose that many reviews were written by compensated reviewers including one of its own executives.

The FTC found that Traffic Jam Events sent mailers styled as COVID-19 stimulus documents, complete with a mock check and the Great Seal, and promised cash prizes people had not won. It is banned from the auto industry for 20 years.

Devumi sold fake indicators of social media influence. It settled what the FTC describes as its first ever complaint challenging that practice, with a final court order entered in October 2019.

The FTC alleged that LendEDU presented paid rankings as objective product information and promoted fake positive reviews. The Commission finalized a settlement that restricted those practices and required a $350,000 payment.

The FTC alleged that Production Media Company and its co-defendants deceptively sold exclusive advertising placements to small businesses and misrepresented when ads would be printed and distributed. A stipulated order barred the conduct and required $100,000.

The FTC and the State of Connecticut alleged that LeanSpa used fake news sites and misleading free-trial claims to sell weight-loss products. The case settled, and the FTC later distributed consumer refunds.

The FTC alleged that Inside Publications reposted paid athlete endorsements without disclosure and presented paid insect-repellent advertising as independent editorial content. The FTC later approved a final consent order.

The FTC alleged that PR firm Creaxion promoted an insect repellent during the 2016 Zika outbreak using paid athlete endorsements presented as independent opinion and advertising disguised as magazine editorial. It settled by consent order.

The FTC alleged that Passport dealerships used more than 21,000 deceptive urgent recall mailers in 2015 and 2017 to bring vehicle owners to service departments. The defendants agreed to orders barring misrepresentations about recalls and other material vehicle facts.

The FTC alleged that Sunkey Publishing and Fanmail.com used copycat military recruitment websites to collect consumer information and sell it as school marketing leads. Proposed orders required domain transfers and restricted future claims and data use.

The FTC alleged that a common enterprise including 9140-9201 Québec Inc. used unsolicited calls and claims of past-due invoices to obtain payment from small businesses for unordered directory, search optimization, website design, and hosting services.

The FTC charged a Florida-based PointBreak Media scheme with robocalling small businesses, falsely claiming to represent Google, threatening removal from search results, and promising first-place or first-page placement. The case later ended.

The FTC and Maine alleged that Marketing Architects created deceptive radio ads, testimonials, news-style promotions, and call scripts for weight-loss products.

The FTC alleged that KFJ Marketing and co-defendants made illegal robocalls with false energy-savings claims to generate leads for solar installers. A court order settled the charges and required the defendants to pay $155,000.

The FTC alleged that Your Yellow Book faxed invoice-like documents with a walking fingers image to businesses, doctors offices and religious schools, seeking up to $487 for listings they never ordered. Its owner then ran a near identical scheme.

The FTC alleged that Fair Guide mailed businesses forms that looked like trade show listing updates, with fine print committing them to $1,717 a year for three years. A court banned the operators from the directory business and entered a $9.1 million judgment.

The FTC alleged that SmartClick Media sold Doctor Trusted seals and operated review sites using misleading claims about medical evaluation and independence. The defendants agreed to settle under a proposed order that included a $35,000 payment.

In its first action against an education lead generator, the FTC alleged Gigats.com posed as pre-screening job applicants for employers while actually steering them to schools that paid $22 to $125 per lead. The employers had never authorized it.

The FTC alleged that Modern Technology Inc. and related defendants billed small businesses and churches for unwanted online directory listings and used collection threats. A court entered a default judgment based on consumer losses.

The FTC alleged that Medical Yellow Directories, American Yellow Corporation, and related defendants billed organizations for directory listings they had not ordered.

The FTC alleged that Machinima paid influencers to post Xbox One endorsement videos without adequately disclosing that the influencers were compensated.

The FTC alleged that ad agency Deutsch LA knew or should have known its PlayStation Vita advertising contained misleading capability claims, and urged its own employees to build excitement on Twitter without disclosing their connection to the agency or its client.

The FTC alleged that Sony made misleading claims about features of the PS Vita handheld console. A final consent order barred similar claims and required refunds or merchandise vouchers for eligible buyers.

The FTC alleged that OnlineYellowPagesToday.com billed organizations for unwanted online directory listings after contacting them under the guise of confirming existing listing information, then used deceptive collection tactics. A settlement order followed.

The FTC and the State of Florida alleged that 7051620 Canada Inc. used unsolicited calls, bogus invoices, and collection tactics to obtain payments for business directory listings and advertising services that organizations had not ordered or received.

The FTC alleged that Kobeni Inc. sent deceptive health-insurance emails claiming consumers would violate federal law unless they acted immediately. Kobeni and its president settled the FTC Act and CAN-SPAM charges for $350,000.

The FTC and Connecticut alleged that TicketNetwork and two marketing partners ran resale ticket sites styled as official venue box offices, using paid search ads and mimicked branding, often selling above face value.

The FTC and Florida alleged that Your Yellow Pages cold-called small businesses and nonprofits claiming they owed $400 to more than $1,800 for a second year of directory listings they never ordered, then posed as a debt collector.

The FTC alleged that TBWA Worldwide produced a Nissan Frontier advertisement showing the truck pushing a dune buggy up a hill it cannot climb. Both vehicles were dragged up by cables and the hill was made to look steeper than it was.

The FTC alleged that this operation faxed businesses and churches forms with a walking fingers logo asking them to update a listing, where the fine print committed them to $89 a month for two years. A court entered a $10.2 million judgment.

The FTC alleged that the Coleadium affiliate network, trading as Ads4Dough, recruited and paid marketers who used fake news sites to sell acai berry and colon cleanse products with false weight loss claims. It settled for $1 million.

The FTC alleged that Coulomb Media used fake news websites to promote acai berry supplements and colon cleansers with deceptive weight loss claims. A $2.7 million judgment was suspended after payment of $170,000 in cash and assets.

The FTC alleged that Jesse Willms and his companies took more than $450 million through free trial offers that became recurring charges, typically $79.95 a month, affecting almost four million consumers across five countries.

The FTC alleged that Integration Media Inc., doing business as GoAm Media, led small businesses and nonprofits to believe they had ordered and owed money for directory listings. The FTC later mailed refunds involving two directory operations.

The FTC alleged that Philip A. Flora sent millions of unsolicited commercial text messages, misrepresented a government affiliation, and sold respondent information as debt settlement leads. A federal court entered a settlement banning unsolicited commercial texts and requiring $32,000.

The FTC alleged that Reverb Communications had employees post iTunes reviews of clients' games while posing as ordinary consumers and failing to disclose paid relationships. A final FTC order barred misrepresentations and required removal of certain endorsements.