Comments are due Sept. 26 on the FTC’s proposed revisions for ad endorsement guidelines (see 2205190058), said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. The agency said it plans to expand definitions for online influencers and set clear rules for prohibiting manipulation of consumer reviews, omission of bad reviews and buying fake reviews. The updated guidelines will reflect the “extent to which advertisers have turned increasingly to the use of social media and product reviews to market their products,” said the FTC.

The FTC should develop policies for protecting minors from “pervasive, sophisticated and data-driven digital marketing practices,” the Center for Digital Democracy wrote the agency Monday with Fairplay, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and more than 20 other groups. They cited manipulative tactics from influencers and fictional characters designed to exploit children’s developmental vulnerabilities. Research on digital advertising is limited but suggests children have less ability than adults to recognize advertising on digital media, the groups said. They suggested an FTC policy statement on digital marketing for minors. The groups filed the comment in response to the FTC's October event on digital advertising. The agency didn't comment.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $100,000 fine against Verizon Wireless Friday for allegedly failing to adequately respond to a complaint about the company’s premium voicemail service. Someone with disabilities “filed an informal complaint” with the Enforcement Bureau “alleging that the Company’s Premium Visual Voicemail service was not accessible,” the bureau said. As the FCC investigated, and after the initial response, it sent the carrier a letter of inquiry (LOI) in February seeking additional information, the notice said. “Verizon did not provide documentation supporting its assertion that the complainant’s problem was caused by” the customer’s “device,” the bureau said: “Verizon did not provide any evidence that the problem was unique to the individual complainant; nor did Verizon explain or offer evidence to show how it reached that conclusion.” The carrier also didn’t “respond fully to the LOI’s demand for information and documentation about problems with accessing its Premium Visual Voicemail service, and how those problems were resolved.” Verizon “takes its accessibility obligations very seriously,” a spokesperson emailed: “While we respect the FCC's role in ensuring that services are available to all individuals, we do not agree with the factual analysis and legal conclusions in today's notice. At all times the Verizon service at issue was accessible to everyone -- including the single individual who filed the underlying complaint with the FCC. We will respond on the record and if necessary appeal the decision."

The FCC shouldn’t modify or replace the emergency action notification (EAN) code used for alerting in nationwide emergencies, said NCTA in an ex parte call with the Public Safety Bureau Tuesday, according to a filing Thursday in docket 15-94. “The EAN code is substantially different” from other emergency alert system codes “in that it is hard-wired into downstream equipment” such as set-top boxes, NCTA said. “Thus, any changes to the EAN code would be difficult to implement.” Modifying the code was among several proposals the FCC floated last year for updating emergency alerting (see 2110200065). Cable set-top boxes have about a 10-year lifecycle, and many customers may have even older boxes, NCTA said. “Older set-top boxes are frequently phased out via attrition, rather than actively replaced.”

Google should clarify search results that steer individuals looking for abortion services to anti-abortion clinics, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) wrote the company Wednesday. Google Maps fails to distinguish between abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers, she said: The latter don’t offer abortion services, often don’t have medical professionals, and try to dissuade people from having abortions. It’s important to clarify the distinction due to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, she wrote.

President Joe Biden’s choice of Arati Prabhakar as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy won the strong endorsement of IEEE-USA, which called her “exceptionally qualified” for the role. Prabhakar's “impeccable credentials and depth of leadership experience” make the former director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology an “outstanding choice” to head the agency, said IEEE-USA President Deborah Cooper Thursday.

AT&T asked the FCC for permission to test a range of high mid-band frequencies, from 7 GHz to 15 GHz, including potentially 12 GHz, for two years in the Austin area. AT&T said it plans tests “to demonstrate the functionality and capabilities” of 5G-advanced and “potential 6G wireless communication systems.” The company plans to use pre-commercial or experimental hardware, the application said. A spokesperson declined comment.

The SEC launched an investigation into Ericsson's conduct in Iraq in 2019, said the company said in a 6-K filing Thursday. Though it's too early "to determine or predict the outcome of the investigation," Ericsson is "fully cooperating," it said. In February, a new round of allegations emerged over Ericsson's dealings in Iraq. The company admitted it may have bribed the terror organization ISIS to get access to transport routes, with payments dating back to 2011. Ericsson's Thursday filing, though, didn't provide details on the nature of the investigation. Ericsson also is under investigation at the DOJ over allegations it breached the terms of its 2019 deferred prosecution agreement by failing to disclose information from its internal investigation into alleged misconduct in Iraq.

The Open Grid Alliance gained nine new members and lost one, the association told DOJ and the FTC in simultaneous “written notifications” May 20, says a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. “Membership in this group research project remains open, and OGA intends to file additional written notifications disclosing all changes in membership,” said Suzanne Morris, DOJ Antitrust Division chief-premerger and division statistics. The notifications are required to extend OGA members antitrust protections under the 1993 National Cooperative Research and Production Act, said Morris. New OGA members, according to the notice, are Accedian Networks, St. Laurent, Canada; Arrcus, San Jose; Crown Castle Fiber, Houston; Ecole de technologie superieure, Montreal; Highway9 Networks, Saratoga, California; Macrometa, San Mateo, California; Menya Solutions, Sherbrooke, Canada; STARaCom Research Center, Montreal; and Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec City. ITRenew, Newark, California, has withdrawn, says the notice.

Cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the “payment of choice” for many online scammers, with about one out of every four dollars reported lost to fraud paid in cryptocurrency, reported the FTC Friday. An agency analysis said consumers reported losing more than $1 billion to fraud involving cryptocurrencies between January 2021 and March 2022. Most of the losses consumers reported -- $575 million worth -- “involved bogus cryptocurrency investment opportunities,” said the FTC. “These scams often falsely promise potential investors that they can earn huge returns by investing in their cryptocurrency schemes,” it said. Reports suggest cryptocurrency scams “often begin on social media,” it said. “Nearly half of consumers who reported a cryptocurrency related scam since 2021 said it started with an ad, post or message on a social media platform.” Adult consumers under 49 “were more than three times as likely as older age groups to have reported losing money to a cryptocurrency scam,” said the FTC. “Older age groups, however, reported losing more money when they did report a cryptocurrency-related scam.”