Online Advertising Guidance Updated by FTC
By Brian McCalmon and J. Bradford Currier
The Federal Trade Commission has updated its primary business guidance for online advertising, “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising.” The update to the guidance, which had not been revised since 2000, addresses the emergence of new electronic media and communications protocols over the last 13 years and compliance with the FTC Act’s requirement that ads be truthful and not misleading, adequately substantiated, and not unfair. Each of these mandates can require the disclosure of qualifying information in a manner that the FTC intends to be “clear and conspicuous” – i.e., easily accessed and understood by the consumer.