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The FTC is cracking its whip, and the latest to feel the heat is Instacart, which will be repaying $60 million to settle an indictment by the Trade Commission that it had deceived consumers with deceptive advertisements.

The FTC stated that Instacart not only misled the consumers by employing unlawful tactics that forced consumers to pay more but also refused refunds.

The FTC also gave an example of Instacart’s “free delivery” claims, which were found to be dubious because the consumers still had to pay a mandatory service fee, which could add up to 15% to their total order.

Another false claim that the delivery platform had made was the 100% customer satisfaction guarantee, since it implies that the platform will make a full 199% refund if the customer is not satisfied with their orders, and this was found untrue, especially in instances of late delivery or improper service.

The Agency also found that Instacart had concealed the refund option from the “self-service” menu that consumers use to report glitches with their orders.

The platform built a false notion that consumers can get credit toward a future order rather than a refund.

The FTC also flagged several issues, which included failure by the platform to reveal all the details related to the Instacart+ membership enrolment process.

The process, which claimed that it was a free trial, did not reveal that consumers would be charged once the trial ended. This facilitated the platform charging consumers without obtaining their consent.

FTC Orders Instacart to Pay $60 Million

As of today, the agreement will enable you to receive refunds.

Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.

“The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms.”

Instacart has acknowledged that a settlement has been reached in a blog post, but stated that it has not been indicted for any wrongdoing. It also alleged that the FTC investigation was essentially flawed.

Instacart is facing a lot of flak after a recent study that exposed how an AI-powered pricing tool is causing consumers to receive different prices for the same items at the same stores.

Instacart responded to these allegations and stated that retailers are at liberty to fix their own prices, and any pricing exercise using the AI tool is random and not influenced by user data. The platform’s AI pricing tool is also the subject of a separate investigation by the FTC.

Also Read: Netflix Once Tried to Buy EA and Disney Before Warner Bros. Deal, Report Reveals

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Sycamore Brewing co-owner Justin Brigham has been arrested and charged with break-in and statutory rape.

The arrest and the charges for which it was effected have sent shockwaves through the brewing industry. Sycamore Brewing is a popular Charlotte-area brewery.

Immediately after the news of Justin Brigham’s arrest became public, his wife, who is also the co-owner of the brewery, Sarah Taylor, dropped his name and said he’s divesting.

Reacting sharply to the incident, the wife of Justin Brigham declared that she is dropping her husband’s last name and will revert to her maiden name.

Breaking: The Co-Owner of Sycamore Brewing, Justin Brigham, has been arrested on felony charges of statutory rape of a child, first-degree burglary, and indecent liberties with a child. He's accused of breaking into a Stanly County home and raping a girl under the age of 15.… pic.twitter.com/T7P68dd5TJ

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) December 11, 2025

In a statement on behalf of the brewery, which was addressed to the employees, customers, and partners, Sarah Taylor stated that she was devastated by the news and the charges against her husband and the trauma that this incident has inflicted on her family.

Sycamore Brewing co-owner Justin Brigham was arrested on charges of break-in and statutory rape of a 13-year-old on Thursday. Justin Brigham is indicted of breaking into a 13-year-old’s house and engaging in sexual acts with the victim on Wednesday.

Sarah Taylor also stated that she is assuming full control of the company and said,

“Effective immediately, I am assuming full leadership. Justin is divesting all of his interests and will have no further involvement. Our team remains my highest priority as a mom and a business owner.”

The Sycamore Brewery was established in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2013 and had carved a niche for itself as one of the most prominent craft breweries in the city. In 2015, Sarah moved to Charlotte and, along with her husband, built Sycamore Brewing together. The couple is reported to have one daughter.

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Close on the heels of Netflix in the process of executing an $82 billion acquisition bid for Warner Bros., there are reports that the OTT behemoth also tried to acquire EA and Disney earlier. The idea was dropped after internal conflicts.

As per a report by Bloomberg, Netflix, as a part of its expansion drive, also tried to acquire major players such as Electronic Arts (EA), Disney, and even Fox. However, the ideas lead to internal conflicts with worries about paying a gargantuan amount for acquiring these assets.

This is not the first time that Netflix was trying to make its foray into the gaming industry and in the past had acquired a number of smaller studios and created a library of interactive and mobile games.

Netflix reportedly considered buying Disney.

(via https://t.co/ibFKl7S7In) pic.twitter.com/vziuyoK9cM

— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) December 8, 2025

The report also explained that the deal could not be finalized since the management was worried it would be paying a much larger amount for an asset that traded at a much lower multiple and could hurt its shares.

As per a report by Forbes, any acquisition of a media studio or gaming company is usually accompanied by high valuation multiples and also teething integration problems. This could have been the reason for Netflix to withdraw from this venture.

The venture also carried a risk of erosion of investor confidence if it could turn out to be as profitable as touted. Also, it has been the policy of the OTT giant to build content in-house rather than through large-scale acquisition.

Netflix has bid adieu to games or niche acquisitions and is concentrating on augmenting its library with established studios and proven franchises. This was its underlying motto when it decided to focus on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the right balance between value and risk.

The Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. and other streaming assets is reported to be $82 billion, but it is facing a lot of scrutiny, especially from the White House. President Donald Trump has also expressed reservations since Netflix is a major player in the streaming industry and Hollywood has expressed antitrust issues.

The deal has been hailed by Netflix’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, who stated that it is a tactical move that will augment business for years to come. Netflix can utilize Warner Bros.’ storied content library and production capabilities and help it offer better content to its consumers.

The deal is also facing opposition from Paramount, backed by Skydance, and is offering an even bigger price of $108 billion. It has also been alleged that Warner Bros. has rushed into a deal with Netflix without looking at other options.

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