Penalty Amount
$438,500,000
Connecticut led a multistate settlement with JUUL Labs for $438.5 million over allegations of marketing vaping products to underage youth. The settlement funds are being directed to Regional Behavioral Health Action Organizations through new legislation to combat youth vaping, with requirements for transparency and evidence-based programs.
JUUL Labs must pay $438.5 million, with Connecticut's share of approximately $16 million allocated to RBHAOs for vaping prevention and cessation programs. The legislation ensures that funds are used for evidence-based treatment and prevention, with updated reporting requirements similar to opioid settlement funds.
In-house legal teams should review distribution agreements, retailer contracts, and marketing partnership agreements for clauses related to youth access prevention. Specifically, examine marketing restrictions prohibiting minor targeting, mandatory age-verification system requirements, retailer compliance certifications, and compliance with federal/state tobacco and vaping regulations (e.g., FDA, state age-gating laws). Agreements may need amendments to enhance age-verification protocols, add mandatory training on youth marketing prohibitions, strengthen audit rights, include explicit penalties for non-compliance, and align reporting obligations with settlement monitoring requirements.
Entity
JUUL Labs
Also known as: JUUL
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2023-press-releases/ag-tong-praises-unanimous-passage-of-legislation-directing-juul-vaping-settlement-funds-to-rbhaos
AG Testimony on PH 6914 Opioids JUUL Tobacco 32223 F
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/AG/Press_Releases/2023/AG-Testimony-on-PH-6914-Opioids-JUUL-Tobacco-32223-F.pdf
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
$438.5M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led 34 states and territories in a $438.5 million settlement with JUUL Labs over its youth-targeted marketing and misleading practices. The settlement includes strict injunctive terms prohibiting youth marketing, certain flavors, and requiring age verification. Funds will support tobacco cessation programs.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a civil investigative demand into MediaLab.AI Inc., owner of the Kik Messenger app, over lax age assurance practices, content moderation, and child safety failures that advocates have dubbed a "predator's paradise." The action follows a July 2025 notice of violation under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act for privacy notice deficiencies and processing sensitive data — including health, biometric, and precise geolocation data — without proper consent, which the company has only partially addressed. The new investigation seeks records related to practices that may constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the CTDPA and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. No fine has been imposed to date.
Attorney General William Tong issued a consumer alert warning Connecticut residents about unregulated, offshore decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency exchanges, naming GMX, Gains Network, dYdX, Aevo, Drift Protocol, Vertex Protocol, and Hyperliquid. The alert highlights risks including bypassing U.S. law via VPNs, predatory leverage up to 250x, misleading synthetic asset products, and lack of KYC protections. No enforcement action or penalty was imposed; at least one Connecticut consumer reportedly lost $200,000 deposited with an unregulated DeFi exchange.
$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.