• The FTC has reached an agreement with women’s clothing retailer Talbots and its California telemarketing company to settle charges that the two companies used prerecorded marketing “robocalls” that failed to give consumers proper notice of their right to opt out of receiving such calls. In addition to paying fines totaling $161,000, the companies agreed to comply with conditions requiring them to inform consumers of how to opt out of such calls prior to any marketing message, to immediately disconnect consumers who opt out, and inform consumers that they can make a “do-not-call” request at any time during the call. U.S. v. Talbots, No. 10-cv-10698 (D. Mass). The FTC’s press release announcing the settlement can be viewed here.
  • Senator Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, has urged the FTC to provide guidelines for social networking sites, like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, on how private information submitted by online users can be used and disseminated. He also asked the FTC to examine the privacy disclosures of social networking sites to ensure they are accurate and fully disclose the extent to which the sites share information. The letter is largely in reaction to reports that Facebook has decided to provide user data to third-party Web sites and has begun sharing personal profile information that users previously had the ability to keep private. A press release detailing Senator Schumer’s request can be found here.