Information and Alerts

Government Actions 1

FTC Announces Enforcement Sweep to Stem the Tide of Illegal Telemarketing Calls to U.S. Consumers

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

In July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission had announced a complaint that alleged that New York City-based Fluent and multiple affiliates acted as a consent farm lead generator by using deceptive dark patterns to trick people into providing personal information and giving their so-called “consent” for more solicitations. According to the FTC, Fluent sold more than 620 million telemarketing leads to other companies and, in the process, violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the CAN-SPAM Act. According to the Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Monetary Penalty from August 10, 2023, Fluent will pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and must destroy all previously collected consumer information. In addition, it is permanently banned from engaging in, assisting, or facilitating robocalls.

Government Actions 2

PA AG Announces a Settlement with New York-based Fluent, LLC and its Subsidiaries for Unwanted Telemarketing Calls to PA Residents.

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

On 5/18/2023, Pennsylvania Attorney General Henry announced a settlement with New York-based Fluent, LLC and its subsidiaries, for their role in allegedly causing millions of unwanted telemarketing calls to be placed to Pennsylvania residents.
Through promotional offers in which gift cards to popular retailers such as Amazon or Walmart were offered as incentives, Fluent and its subsidiaries collected personal information, including telephone numbers, which were then sold as “leads” to telemarketing companies. This included the personal information of thousands of people on the Pennsylvania and Federal “Do Not Call” lists. According to the lawsuit, Fluent’s promotional offers consistently failed to include clear and obvious disclosures that by providing personal information, registrants consented to receive telemarketing calls from hundreds of potential sellers. These sellers’ products and services were often not related to the original promotional offerings and had nothing to do with Fluent’s conduct. According to the lawsuit, more than 4.2 million Pennsylvania consumers registered their information on one of Fluent’s websites. 

The underlying lawsuit alleged that Fluent and its subsidiaries assisted and facilitated millions of violations of federal and state telemarketing laws by:

--Distributing telemarketing calls to consumers who are on the Federal “Do Not Call” Registry;

--Delivering telemarketing calls to consumers on the Federal “Do Not Call” Registry where the consumers did not give their valid consent to be contacted;

--Delivering telemarketing calls to consumers with pre-recorded messages– also known as robocalls– without proper consumer consent; and

--Engaging in deceptive and misleading business practices in connection with their lead-generating practices.

This settlement prevents Fluent and its subsidiaries from contacting Pennsylvanians who are registered on the national registry or the Pennsylvania “Do Not Call” list without first receiving the consumer’s express agreement in writing. Furthermore, it requires that Fluent and its subsidiaries clearly disclose to consumers the specific party or parties for whom consent is requested without using a hyperlink or separate pop-up screen. Finally, the settlement prevents Fluent and its subsidiaries from selling, transferring, or sharing any data that would result in the consumer receiving a prerecorded message. The settlement also requires Fluent to pay $250,000 to the Office of Attorney General to be used for public protection and educational purposes.
The Consent Petition, which was approved by the Court, was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.