Other LanguagesOLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a Pennsylvania online tobacco retailer, Smoker’s Outlet Online, will pay $65,885 after it illegally sent tobacco products to Washington state. The payment will go toward continued enforcement of state tobacco laws. Smoker’s Outlet Online made this payment to avoid a lawsuit from the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today partnered with a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit asserts that the technology giant illegally leverages its dominance in the online search and search advertising markets to stifle competing platforms, drive advertisers away from rival search engines, and limit competing specialized sellers’ ability to bring customers directly to their sites from general Google search results.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the results of a sweep cracking down on illegal internet vaping sales into Washington. As a result of the sweep, five companies caught violating Washington’s age verification law — including one based in Spokane — will pay a total of $132,000 to the Attorney General’s Office, which will go toward continued enforcement of the law. Moreover, the five companies entered into legally binding agreements to change their advertising and online sales practices to comply with Washington’s youth access law. The Attorney General’s Office has or will file lawsuits against two more companies for the same issues.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today issued the following statement regarding a multistate amicus brief, or “friend of the court” brief, in Texas v. Pennsylvania, Texas’s attempt to throw out the results of the election in four battleground states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. The states’ brief asks the court to reject Texas’s lawsuit.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook asserting the company formed an illegal monopoly in the personal social networking market. The company formed this monopoly by buying or constraining potential competitors, usually mobile apps, in their infancy — including rivals Instagram and WhatsApp.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Synapse Group, the country’s top magazine subscription company, must return all of the money it charged more than 2,000 Washington consumers for deceptive auto-renewals, an estimated total of $125,000. These customers bought magazine subscriptions at a highly discounted promotional rate of $2. However, the company did not clearly disclose that these $2 subscriptions would auto-renew at full price. In addition to the checks themselves, Synapse is also required to pay the Attorney General’s Office $750,000 for reasonable attorney costs and fees, future monitoring and enforcement of today’s resolution, and future enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act.
OLYMPIA — In response to concerns raised by consumer complaints and news reports, Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued guidance today for third-party restaurant delivery services. The guidance is aimed at helping the companies avoid violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that his office recently uncovered a dramatic change in the timeline for the proposed sale of the National Archives building in Seattle buried in a 74-page meeting minutes document from October. In it, the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) disclosed that it would move to immediately sell the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) building in Seattle, along with a “portfolio” of other federal properties, in early 2021. It had planned on selling the properties individually over the next year.
OLYMPIA — In light of recent inquiries from members of the press and public, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Secretary of State Kim Wyman are jointly providing information about what happens under Washington law if the governor resigns to accept a position in a presidential administration.
SEATTLE — A King County Superior Court judge today found AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., one of the largest prescription opioid distributors in the world, in contempt of court for failing to turn over important documents and attempting to shield key witnesses from testifying. AmerisourceBergen is one of the three companies Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued in March 2019 for unlawfully contributing to Washington state’s opioid epidemic.