Connecticut Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to Sephora regarding the marketing of anti-aging skincare products with harmful ingredients like retinol and acids to children and teens on social media. The AG seeks information on product placements in searches for kids and warning practices, cautioning parents about potential skin harm from these products.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements governing marketing, sales, and platform operations, including influencer marketing agreements, website terms of use, vendor agreements with brands (e.g., Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe), and any data processing agreements if customer data is involved. Specific clauses to scrutinize are those related to marketing compliance, target audience restrictions, age-gating mechanisms, product warning and disclaimer obligations, and control over search result algorithms and product placements. Given the AG's concern over products appearing in searches for 'kids' and 'gifts for children,' contracts may need amendments to mandate stricter age verification, require prominent warnings about ingredients like retinol and acids for young users, restrict product categorization and search indexing for minor audiences, and impose obligations on influencers to include safety disclaimers when promoting such products to younger demographics.
Entity
Sephora
Industry
RetailOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2024-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-cautions-parents-regarding-anti-aging-skincare
sephora usa inc inquiry letter112524.pdf?rev=00d5d4e2d528481
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2024/sephora-usa-inc-inquiry-letter112524.pdf?rev=00d5d4e2d5284811b6cb15fb6f77f3bb&hash=588DD9C5BED120D3E887339C75E9F0C2
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a settlement with beauty retailer Sephora resolving an investigation into the company’s marketing of anti-aging skincare products containing active ingredients like retinol to children under 13. Sephora agreed to adopt enforceable safeguards including requiring suppliers to provide age suitability warnings, disclosing those warnings on product pages, training employees to advise young customers, and maintaining a public resource on age-appropriate products. No monetary penalty was imposed.
$29.6M
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, for allegedly conspiring to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation in ongoing litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition.
$29.6M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, to resolve allegations of a widespread conspiracy to artificially inflate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation from Glenmark in ongoing multistate litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.
$18.0M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 42 attorneys general in a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations from a 2023 data breach that compromised the genetic data of 6.9 million customers. The settlement includes $150 million in allowed claims, with $18 million paid from bankruptcy funds, and requires enhanced data security measures for the new entity holding the data.
Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in suing to block the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in theatrical film distribution and basic cable television licensing, which would harm consumers through higher prices and reduced quality.
Attorney General William Tong and 48 other attorneys general submitted comments to the FCC urging stronger rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate telephone numbers for illegal robocalls. The coalition is responding to the FCC's proposed rules and asks for measures such as stronger certification, reporting, and prohibitions on number cycling.