ROSCA

• The order must be approved by the court before it can go into effect.
• “As the Commission’s complaint lays out, Cerebral violated its customers’ privacy by revealing their most sensitive mental health conditions across the Internet and in the mail,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan.
• “To address this betrayal, the Commission is ordering a first-of-its-kind prohibition that bans Cerebral from using any health information for most advertising purposes."
• Cerebral provides online mental health and related services on a negative option basis, which means consumers are automatically charged unless they cancel those services.

• Despite promising that consumers could “cancel anytime,” Cerebral required its clients to navigate a complex, multi-step, and often multi-day process to cancel.
• The complaint alleges that the company continued to charge consumers while it slow-walked consumers’ cancellation requests, which cost consumers millions in additional charges.
• The proposed order, which must be approved by a federal court before it can go into effect, only applies to Cerebral.

• The Commission voted 3-0 to refer the complaint against Cerebral and Robertson and a stipulated final order with Cerebral to the Department of Justice for filing.
• The DOJ filed the complaint and stipulated order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Negative reinforcement? FTC proposes amending Negative Option Rule to include click-to-cancel and other protections

• 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.
• However, the current Negative Option Rule applies only to prenotification plans, an older (and frankly, fading) business model.
• Given the narrow scope of the existing Negative Option Rule, the time seems right for a rethink.
• A second reason why the FTC is asking for your feedback about proposed changes to the Rule is because problematic negative option practices continue to inflict consumer injury.

• At the intersection of AI and global finance, in the Q2 edition of 2023, Pan Finance will examine these trends and more, providing insights and analysis from experts in both fields.
• Furthermore, Pan Finance continues to shine a spotlight on leading examples of best practice across the world of finance.
• Lucy Mullins, COO and Co-Founder of Circles powered by StepLadder commented, "We're delighted that the Pan Finance Awards are recognising collaborative finance as a category now influential across the world.
• CEO of Beforepay, Jamie Twiss told Pan Finance, "We're honoured to receive the Pan Finance 2023 Ethical Lender of the Year Award and are proud to be recognised as a mission-driven fintech.

FTC says payment processor’s illegal pitches and practices harmed small businesses