- with readers working within the Retail & Leisure industries
Letter From the Editor
Following the Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) Masters of Advertising Law Conference earlier this month, we are thrilled to release the Fall 2025 issue of Kattison Avenue. In these pages, you will find key takeaways from the ANA conference and Katten's panel on advertising risk, as well as updates on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) lawsuit against Amazon alleging "dark patterns" and the resulting $2.5 billion settlement, new privacy measures recently signed into law in California, the tools that global governments are employing to enhance online safety, and the debate over free expression versus the protection of civil rights in Italian advertising.
First, Catherine O'Brien and I recount the highlights and top takeaways from the ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference. Then, she and Intellectual Property Partner Christopher Cole, Advertising and Brand Litigation co-chair, discuss the landmark settlement in phase one of the FTC's litigation against Amazon, a lawsuit alleging that Amazon misled millions of consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime and then made it unreasonably difficult for them to cancel. Up next is an article by Outside Counsel Cynthia Martens, which details a trio of new privacy measures that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law in October, including a measure to facilitate consumer use of opt-out preference signals on web browsers.
Finally, we have updates from our colleagues across the pond. London Deputy Managing Partner Terry Green and Intellectual Property Associate Larry Wong delve into the emerging global trend of governments' proactive efforts to regulate platforms and protect online users, including in the United Kingdom, the European Union and New York. Then we hear again from Cynthia Martens, who describes the Italian parliament's debate over free expression and the ban on all forms of advertising containing sexist or violent messages and offensive gender stereotypes.
Thank you to our readers, and we hope that you enjoy this edition of our newsletter. It was great to see many of you in Chicago for another successful ANA conference. If you have advertising law questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or Katten's team.
In this issue:
- Takeaways From the ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference
- FTC's Landmark $2.5 Billion Amazon Settlement Highlights Ongoing Focus on 'Dark Patterns'
- OOPS, He Did It Again: CA Governor Signs Trio of New Privacy Measures Into Law
- Toward a Safer Internet: Laws, Limits and the Fight to Enforce Them
- Bringing Sexy Back? Italy Says No, For Now
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