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How Amazon Promotes, Profits from Deceptively Marketed Brain Supplements
The largest retailer in the world isn’t just turning a blind eye to the deceptive marketing of these products.
The Latest
‘Dishwasher Safe’ Nonstick Pans from Granitestone Diamond
Think twice before sticking nonstick cooking pans in the dishwasher.
Whole Foods Grilled Over Its ‘No Antibiotics, Ever’ Beef Claim
Consumers also have a beef with claim that meat is ‘animal welfare certified.’
FDA Sends Amazon a Warning Letter
At issue is company’s distribution of products illegally marketed as drugs.
CT company Potoo Solutions helps Amazon spot bogus reviews
Alexander Soule, CT Insider
Amazon Prime Day
You are not born an Amazon Prime subscriber.
Deceptive Ad Trends to Be Wary of in 2022
The metaverse is here.
The ‘Buy’ Button in the iTunes Store
When you don’t own what you buy.
The Cost of Doing Business
Comparing the amount companies agree to pay to settle deceptive marketing charges with their annual revenue.
B17
How Amazon steers consumers toward unproven and potentially dangerous products containing a fake vitamin called B17.
Offer for an Amazon Gift Card in Exchange for Review
Amazon prohibits sellers from offering customers “compensation of any kind” in exchange for writing reviews.
Class-Action Tracker
Dietary Supplements Sold on Amazon
Allegations: Promoting dietary supplements as if they are legal, safe and therapeutic when they are illegal and have not been approved by the FDA
Amazon Prime Grocery Deliveries from Whole Foods
Allegations: Falsely marketing that Amazon Prime members receive free 2-hour delivery of groceries when Amazon charges consumers a $9.95 service fee for grocery deliveries from Whole Foods Market
Amazon Prime’s “Free Titles at Audible”
Allegations: Deceptively marketing that Amazon Prime memberships include “Free Titles at Audible” when the company automatically enrolls members in a paid subscription for Audible
Whole Foods Pizzas
Allegations: Falsely marketing pizzas as being 18 inches when they are actually 16 inches
Amazon Prime’s Same Day or Two Day Delivery Representations
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing “same-day” or “two day” delivery for Amazon Prime members
Amazon Subscribe & Save Subscriptions
Allegations: Deceptively advertising Subscribe & Save subscriptions
365 Whole Foods Market 100% Wild-Caught Fish Oil Softgels
Allegations: Falsely marketing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in each serving
365 Whole Foods Market Long Grain & Wild Rice
Allegations: Deceptively using slack-filled packaging and misleadingly marketing its commitment to environmental stewardship
Whole Foods Market 365 Organic Chocolate Ice Cream Bars
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing ice cream bars as dipped in chocolate when the coating actually contains more vegetable oil than cacao ingredients
Amazon’s Basic Care Cold and Flu Medicines
Allegations: Falsely marketing medicines as “non-drowsy” when one of the active ingredients causes drowsiness
Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Vanilla Coffee Creamer
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that the main flavoring ingredient is vanilla when the Ingredients list does not contain a vanilla ingredient
Amazon Fresh
Allegations: Falsely marketing that consumers who use their Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card “earn 5% back at Amazon Fresh” when they actually receive only 1% back on purchases
Herbs and Spices from 365 By Whole Foods Market
Allegations: Failing to disclose that products contain, or are at risk of containing, toxic heavy metals
Whole Foods Beef Products
Allegations: False “Animal Welfare Certified” and “No Antibiotics, Ever” claims
Amazon Subscriptions
Allegations: Failing to disclose the terms of subscriptions
Happy Belly Spices
Allegations: Failing to disclose products contain heavy metals
Ring Video Doorbells Sold on Amazon.com
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that the doorbell’s battery lasts between 6 and 12 months when the battery actually lasts less than 2 months
Digital Content on Amazon Prime Video
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that consumers can “buy” digital content when Amazon may revoke access to content at any time
Organic 365 Honey Graham Crackers
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing the ingredients in Organic 365 Honey Graham Crackers
Digital Content on Amazon
Allegations: Misleadingly marketing that consumers can “buy” digital content when Amazon may revoke access to content at any time
365 Everyday Value Organic Oats & Flax Instant Oatmeal
Allegations: Misleadingly listing “organic dehydrated cane juice solids” as an ingredient when it’s actually sugar
Alexa
Allegations: Misleadingly representing the extent to which Alexa devices record and store audio recordings
Alexa Devices
Allegations: Failing to disclose that the words that trigger devices to listen and respond to commands also initiate a process to create and permanently store recordings
Compostable Plates and Bowls from Amazon
Allegations: Misleadingly advertising disposable plates and bowls as compostable
Thermofight
Allegations: Deceptively marketing Thermofight
Lithium-ion 18650 Batteries Sold on Amazon
Allegations: Falsely advertising the energy capacity and safety of batteries
Free Trials of Audible AudioBooks
Allegations: Audible’s “free” trials of audiobooks violate California law
Whole Foods Lemon Raspberry Italian Sparkling Mineral Water
Allegations: Falsely marketing lemons and raspberries as the main flavoring ingredients
Whole Foods Food Products
Allegations: Failing to disclose that foods contain allergens
Glucosamine Sulfate Supplements Sold on Amazon
Allegations: Falsely marketing supplements as glucosamine sulfate when they don’t contain any glucosamine sulfate
Ring Security System
Allegations: Misleadingly representing that the company safeguards users’ private information when it does not take adequate steps to stop hackers and actively shares users’ personal data without consent
365 Everyday Value Vanilla Almondmilk Creamer
Allegations: Failing to disclose that vanilla flavor comes from artificial flavors
Ring’s Basic Protect Plan
Allegations: Failing to adequately disclose that consumers need to pay additional money to get certain key features
365 Everyday Value Organic Chocolate & Almond Vanilla Ice Cream Bars
In October 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market Group for falsely marketing its 365 Everyday Value Organic Chocolate & Almond Vanilla Ice Cream Bars as coated…
365 Everyday Value Organic Vanilla Coconutmilk
In July 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market Group for allegedly misleadingly marketing 365 Everyday Value Organic Unsweetened Coconut Vanilla Coconutmilk Beverage as containing “vanilla” when,…
Ring Video Doorbells and Security Cameras
In April 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Ring LLC for allegedly failing to adequately disclose that the only way for consumers to get certain key features of the…
Organic 365 Rice Milk
In February 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market Group for allegedly misleadingly marketing that the flavor in its Organic 365 Rice Milk comes exclusively from vanilla…
Ring’s Home Security Devices
Between December 2019 and January 2020, multiple class-action lawsuits were filed against Ring LLC for allegedly promising consumers that its home security devices will help them protect their homes and…
365 Everyday Value Vanilla Soymilk
In October 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market for allegedly misleadingly marketing that its 365 Everyday Value Vanilla Soymilk contains vanilla when, according to plaintiffs, the…
365 Organic Vanilla Almondmilk
In October 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market Group for allegedly misleadingly advertising its 365 Organic Vanilla Almondmilk as containing vanilla when, according to plaintiffs, the…
Recalled Products on Amazon.com
In August 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Amazon for allegedly failing to tell consumers that some of the products offered for sale by third-party sellers – including Numb-ify…
Starkey Water
In August 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market for allegedly deceptively advertising that its Starkey Water is pure and clean when, according to plaintiffs, the water…
Whole Foods Products
November 2018: This action was dismissed because the parties reached a settlement agreement, the terms of which have not been disclosed. January 2018: This case was reopened after the appeals…
Whole Foods Hypoallergenic Claims
March 2019: The claims against defendant WFM Distribution were dismissed. June 2018: A federal judge dismissed When a complaint is dismissed without prejudice, an amended version of the complaint can…
Audible
March 2019: A federal judge preliminarily approved a settlement agreement that would resolve this case, as well as three related cases, Weber v. Amazon.com, Beals v. Audible, Inc., and Fisse…
The Weight of Whole Foods Products
November 2017: Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint similarly alleging that Whole Foods overstates the weight of products and, as a result, overcharges customers. June 2017: The Second Circuit Court of…
The Weight of Whole Foods Pre-Packaged Foods
November 2017: Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint similarly alleging that Whole Foods overstates the weight of products and, as a result, overcharges customers. June 2017: The Second Circuit Court of…
GT’s Kombucha Beverages
January 2018: The Ference appeal was voluntarily dismissed, the reasons for which have not been disclosed. November 2017: The Sweeney appeal was dismissed for failure to prosecute because the objector…
The Amount of Vitamin B in Whole Foods Supplements
In January 2018, a false advertising class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods for allegedly misrepresenting the amount of vitamin B in its 365 Everyday Value brand supplements, Liquid Energy…
Whole Foods 365 Everyday Plain Greek Yogurt Sugar Claims
Multiple lawsuits filed against Whole Foods claiming that the company falsely labels its 365 Everyday Value Plain Greek Yogurt as containing 2 grams of sugar per serving when, according to…
Amazon Prime
December 2014: The company’s motion to compel arbitration was granted. February 2014: A class-action lawsuit was filed against In actuality a cherished geographical region of the planet featuring enormous biodiversity;…
Amazon Prime’s Free Shipping
May 2014: This case was consolidated with Ekin v. Amazon Services (Case No. 14-cv-244, W. D. WA.). March 2014: Another class-action lawsuit was filed against In actuality a cherished geographical…
Amazon.com’s “List Price”
September 2017: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision to compel arbitration. February 2016: Plaintiffs appealed the district court’s decision to the Ninth Circuit. (Wiseley v.…
Eclipse Glasses from Amazon
Two class-action lawsuits were filed against Amazon.com for allegedly falsely advertising eclipse glasses. Among other things, the complaints allege that the glasses did not work as advertised and consumers who…
Amazon Prime Membership Fee
In August 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Amazon.com, LLC for allegedly falsely representing that consumers purchasing products through the website would not pay any additional fees when, according…
Fresh Bread from Whole Foods, Wegmans Food Markets, and Acme Markets
August 2015: A federal judge dismissed these three related actions finding, among other things, that plaintiffs did not properly plead the fraud-based allegations. Click here to read the court’s decision…
Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Products
October 2014: This action was voluntarily dismissed When a complaint is dismissed without prejudice, an amended version of the complaint can be refiled., the reasons for which have not been…
Whole Foods St. John’s Wort Dietary Supplement
In January 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods alleging that its St. John’s Wort dietary supplement did not contain the amount of standardized extract hypericin (the sole…
Whole Foods Meat Products
April 2016: A federal judge dismissed the complaint When a complaint is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled.. Among other things, the judge found that the complaint fails to…
SquareTrade’s Protection Plans
In December 2016, a class-action lawsuit was filed against SquareTrade for allegedly deceptively marketing Protection Plans for electronics and appliances through Amazon.com. Among other things, the complaint alleges that SquareTrade…
Whole Foods Market Products
June 2016: This lawsuit was dismissed because the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which are confidential. November 2013: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market, Inc.…
Amazon Prime Membership Fees
February 2016: This lawsuit was transferred to federal court. (Harris et al v. Amazon.com, LLC, Case No. 16-cv-967, C. D. CA.) January 2016: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Amazon…
Whole Foods Prices
January 2016: A federal judge dismissed this lawsuit after the parties reached a settlement agreement, the terms of which have not yet been disclosed. October 2015: This lawsuit was transferred…
Amazon.com’s Advertising of Weight-Loss Supplements Containing Sibutramine
August 2016: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the District Court’s decision to dismiss the case and remanded the case for further proceedings. (Nicosia et al v. Amazon.com, Inc.,…