Prenotification plans, continuity programs, automatic renewals, free-to-pay conversions. They’re all variations on the negative option theme. Under the right circumstances, those marketing methods can be convenient for consumers. But as decades of FTC law enforcement makes clear, when negative options are tainted with untruths, half-truths, and hidden strings, the impact on consumers can be, well, negative. That’s why the FTC is asking for public comment on proposed amendments to its Negative Option Rule designed to combat unfairness and deception. When...

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Speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a panel on “Global shocks, policy spillovers and geo-strategic risks: how to coordinate policies” at The ECB and its Watchers XXIII Conference | Frankfurt am Main, 22 March 2023 | We are still going through a sequence of global shocks that are disrupting economies around the world. In just three years we have seen a pandemic, severe supply chain disruptions, a war, an energy crisis and now...

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On this note: be sure to check out the EACCNY's podcast series on the FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY Digital technologies shielded labor and productivity from the pandemic, while lagging countries accelerated the adoption of technology. However, digitalization gaps persist. As the world does its best to move on from the pandemic, one of the lasting legacies for many advanced economies has been greater adoption of digital technologies. Working from home is now common, and many companies have expanded online operations. And as the...

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On 20 March 2023, the European Commission has started unannounced inspections at the premises of a company active in the energy drinks sector in various Member States. The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU') and Article 53 of the European Economic Area Agreement (‘EEA')). The inspected company may also have violated EU antitrust...

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You may have heard of simulation theory, the notion that nothing is real and we’re all part of a giant computer program. Let’s assume at least for the length of this blog post that this notion is untrue. Nonetheless, we may be heading for a future in which a substantial portion of what we see, hear, and read is a computer-generated simulation. We always keep it real here at the FTC, but what happens when none of us can...

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