FTC Chair Lina Khan Testifies In House Appropriations Committee Hearing

Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Weird Money

Faking your influencer status just got way more expensive

The FTC's new rule outlines heavy penalties for folks who buy fake engagement on their social media accounts.

8/15/24 2:42PM

Most headlines about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the past few years have involved the agency suing to block big tech acquisitions (see here, here, and here). However, preventing anticompetitive business practices is only part of their job description.

Per the FTC’s website, the mission of the FTC is “to prevent business practices that are anticompetitive or deceptive or unfair to consumers; to enhance informed consumer choice and public understanding of the competitive process; and to accomplish this without unduly burdening legitimate business activity.”

Earlier today, my colleague Jon Keegan highlighted excellent news from the CFTC on the “deceptive to consumers” front: The FTC today announced a final rule that will combat fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their sale or purchase and allowing the agency to seek civil penalties against knowing violators, with civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation.

The new rule prohibits six actions, the first five of which are related to manipulation of reviews:

Fake or false consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, or celebrity testimonials
Buying positive or negative reviews
Insider reviews and consumer testimonials
Company-controlled review websites
Review suppression

However, it’s the sixth rule that I find the most interesting:

Misuse of fake social media indicators

The FTC further defined “fake social media indicators” as such:

It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice and a violation of this part for anyone to:
(a) sell or distribute fake indicators of social media influence that they knew or should have known to be fake and that can be used by individuals or businesses to materially misrepresent their influence or importance for a commercial purpose; or
(b) purchase or procure fake indicators of social media influence that they knew or should have known to be fake and that materially misrepresent their influence or importance for a commercial purpose.

One of the more annoying parts of social media is the existence of “influencers” who purchase fake followers to mislead their actual audiences and/or deceive potential business partners for financial gain. For example, showing that you have 1.2 million “followers” on Instagram, while maybe 100,000 of those are real people, for the sake of landing sponsorship deals or speaking engagements, or using Twitter bots to amplify your content to mislead other users on your reach, validity or influence.

Punishment for these bad actors has been long-overdue, and it’s interesting that the FTC emphasized that it can seek civil penalties against violators, adding teeth to the rule:

As an additional benefit, the rule will enable the Commission to seek civil penalties against violators. Without an efficient way to seek civil penalties, bad actors have little fear of being penalized for using fraud and deception in connection with reviews and endorsements. Increased deterrence will have consumer welfare benefits and will benefit honest competition. Moreover, the final rule is likely to impose relatively small compliance costs on honest businesses.

Basically, if you get caught cheating the system, the consequences could be expensive. Huge W for Lina Khan — the internet thanks you.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”