Category Archives: News

April 23, 2013

Alberta Pharmacists Debate Proposed Loyalty Marketing Restrictions

There has been quite a bit of debate recently in Canada about the pros and cons of regulation.  Some of the highlights of this debate have included announcements by the Competition Bureau that it is stepping up its advocacy efforts in certain regulated sectors (e.g., … Read the rest of this entry »

April 17, 2013

Ontario Plans New Legislation to Regulate Debt Settlement Services

Yesterday, Consumer Services in Ontario announced that it would be introducing new legislation to strengthen consumer protection rules for debt settlement services.  In making the announcement, the Ministry said: “Ontario consumers need to have confidence that they’re getting what they pay for when purchasing debt … Read the rest of this entry »

April 12, 2013

New U.S. FTC Report With Competition and Advertising Highlights For the Past Year, Parallels to Competition Bureau Enforcement and Priorities

Earlier today, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released 2013 Annual Highlights setting out its priorities over the past year, which generally include promoting online privacy and data security, fostering competition in high-tech industries and healthcare and protecting children and other vulnerable consumers from fraud. In … Read the rest of this entry »

April 11, 2013

Telemarketer Pays $100,000 Penalty – Reminder of National Do Not Call List Rules

In recent news that may serve as a cautionary tale for telemarketers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently announced that Comwave Telenetworks Inc. has paid a $100,000 penalty as part of a settlement for telemarketing practices involving the National Do Not Call List … Read the rest of this entry »

April 6, 2013

A Few Thoughts on the Interim Commissioner of Competition’s C.D. Howe Institute Remarks

Yesterday, Canada’s Interim Commissioner of Competition, John Pecman, delivered remarks at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto – his fifth speech since taking the position of Interim Commissioner last fall (see: Remarks by John Pecman, Interim Commissioner of Competition).  In general, his remarks reflected some … Read the rest of this entry »

March 21, 2013

Telemarketing: CRTC Calls For Public Comments on Do Not Call List and Auto-Dialing Rules

Getting a sales call right when you’re eating dinner can be annoying.  On the other hand, like (in my view very valid) criticism of the pending anti-spam law, are telemarketing calls so troublesome that small and medium size companies should face yet more regulation? The … Read the rest of this entry »

March 19, 2013

U.S. FTC best practices for mobile advertisers and app developers – more U.S. activity and parallels Canadian enforcement priorities

Competition/antitrust enforcement agencies in both the U.S. and Canada have been increasing their focus on new media advertising/marketing practices, notably in the mobile space. In Canada, recent cases and initiatives include the ongoing challenge by the Competition Bureau of Bell/Rogers/Telus for allegedly misleading premium text … Read the rest of this entry »

March 12, 2013

Fraud: Competition Bureau Announces Top 2 “2 Good 2 B True Day” Scams: Highlights False Online Testimonials & Mobile “Subscription Traps”

Earlier today, as part of its Fraud Prevention Month efforts in March, the Competition Bureau announced its Top 2 on “2 Good 2 B True Day” scams: false online testimonials; and mobile “subscription traps”. With respect to false testimonials, the Bureau highlighted concerns with testimonials … Read the rest of this entry »