Consumer News

FTC’s ROSCA Actions

A review of the FTC's ROSCA actions.

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Since 2014, the FTC has brought 32 actions alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). ROSCA prohibits companies from charging consumers through negative-option offers in internet transactions unless they meet certain requirements, including disclosing all material terms of the transactions, providing consumers with a simple way to stop recurring charges and obtaining consumers’ express informed consent to the charges.

Thirty of the FTC actions since 2014 were filed in federal court and two are administrative actions. Twenty-seven of the cases resulted in settlement agreements, and a total of 24 of the cases resulted in monetary judgments or penalties. One of the cases was voluntarily dismissed after a federal court judge entered a judgment in favor of the company. Four of the cases remain pending and an appeal remains pending in one case. (In addition to the actions listed in the table, the FTC sent a staff advisory opinion regarding ROSCA to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in 2011.)

The table below contains more detailed information about the FTC’s ROSCA actions:

Defendant(s)

(Year)

Type of Action Status/Outcome Monetary Penalty or Judgment?
Health Formulas d/b/a Simple Pure Nutrition et al.

(2014)

Federal Court Case Settled
JDI Dating et al

(2014)

Federal Court Case Settled
One Technologies

(2014)

Federal Court Case Settled
DirecTV

(2015)

Federal Court Case Voluntarily dismissed after judgment in favor of defendants
BunZai Media (AuraVie) et al.

(2015)

Federal Court Case 12 of the defendants settled; default judgments were entered as to 20 defendants; 1 relief defendant was dismissed
Direct Alternatives and Original Organics et al*

(2016)

Federal Court Case Settled
Nutraclick f/k/a Hungry Fish Media

(2016)

Federal Court Case Settled
DOTAuthority.com et al

(2016)

Federal Court Case Settled
Credit Bureau Center

(2017)

Federal Court Case 2 defendants settled; Appeal of judgment pending regarding remaining 2 defendants √**
XXL Impressions et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
AAFE Products/BNRI Corp. et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
RevMountain et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
Hornbeam Special Situations et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Pending
Pact Inc. et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
Tarr Inc. et al

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
AdoreMe

(2017)

Federal Court Case Settled
Triangle Media Corp. et al

(2018)

Federal Court Case Settled
Redwood Scientific Technologies et al

(2018)

Federal Court Case 1 individual defendant settled; default judgments were entered as to all the companies; judgment entered against 2 of the individual defendants
Apex Capital Group et al

(2018)

Federal Court Case Settled
Gopalkrishna Pai et al

(2019)

Federal Court Case Pending
Elite IT Partners et al

(2019)

Federal Court Case Settled
UrthBox et al

(2019)

Administrative Action Settled
AH Media Group et al

(2019)

Federal Court Case Settled
Match Group (Match.com)

(2019)

Federal Court Case Pending
MyLife.com, Inc.

(2020)

Federal Court Case Settled
Age of Learning, Inc. d/b/a ABCmouse

(2020)

Federal Court Case Settled
NutraClick***

(2020)

Federal Court Case Settled
MoviePass, Inc. et al

(2021)

Administrative Action Settled
First American Payment Systems also d/b/a Merimac Capital et al.

(2022)

Federal Court Case Settled
Vonage

(2022)

Federal Court Case Settled
WealthPress et al.

(2023)

Federal Court Case Settled
Amazon

(2023)

Federal Court Case Pending

* While the FTC did not allege that the defendants in the Direct Alternatives case violated ROSCA, the defendants agreed not to violate ROSCA in the settlement agreement.

** While the district court ordered the defendants to pay monetary penalties, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the restitution award.

*** This lawsuit alleges that company’s deceptive sales and billing practices violated federal law and a court order from a 2016 FTC case.


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