When Privacy Concerns and Deceptive Marketing Issues Intersect
Why TINA.org supports FTC’s proposed changes to COPPA Rule but pushes for more.
In March 2018, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Rebbl, Inc. for allegedly falsely advertising its “Elixirs” and “Proteins” beverages. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the company markets the beverages as providing various health and body benefits – including that the beverages have positive effects on joint health, fatigue, immunity, and cardiovascular strength and that their ingredients “strengthen the body’s own adaptive resilience to stressors” – when, according to plaintiffs, the claims are not supported by adequate scientific evidence. The complaint also claims that the company deceptively implies that the beverages are healthier than other beverages and that the product labels say “coconut milk” but list water and coconut creme as sub-ingredients of coconut milk. (According to the complaint, coconut milk separates hours after it has been obtained and the company takes one of the layers — coconut crème — and dilutes it to get its “coconut milk.”) (Richburg et al v. Rebbl, Inc., Case No. 18-cv-1674, Case No. 18-cv-1674, E. D. NY.)
Why TINA.org supports FTC’s proposed changes to COPPA Rule but pushes for more.
FTC alleges company pressures consumers into overpaying for its tax filing software.
Bogus report leads to unapproved health claims.
Lawsuits take aim at so-called non-disparagement clauses.
The consumer advocacy organization truthinadvertising.org (TINA.org) has published the results of a yearslong investigation into the multilevel marketing (MLM) industry that found widespread use of deceptive income claims to promote…