Updated FTC Guidelines for Disclosures

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has updated their guidelines for disclosure in online advertising which prohibits unfair and/or deceptive acts and practices. It covers advertising claims, marketing, and promotional activities.

Entitled “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising,” the free document can be downloaded from here.

The guidelines provide information that businesses should use when developing ads for online media to ensure they are in compliance with the new law. Particular attention should be focused on the “proximity and placement” area of the rules, as well as “hyperlinking” the advertisement or endorsements.

Disclosure statements should be noticeable to all consumers. They should be sized, colored and include graphics when and where applicable.

Also included in the updated rules – use in advertising, endorsements, etc., when using space-constrained areas and social media platforms (i.e., Twitter’s 140character limit). If you share reviews on products and point a link to a particular product or service you are endorsing, you must follow these new rules.

If you are unsure how this affects your business and/or blogging activities, the guidelines provide 22 examples to assist you.

Click here for your guidelines and don’t get caught without them.

http://ftc.gov/os/2013/03/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf

 

Can You Backup Your “Green” Claims?

Even Kermit the Frog knows it’s not easy being green. It’s also not easy touting your green products if the claims are not verifiable.

If you’re making claims about the environmental benefits of your products, you must back them up with competent and reliable scientific evidence. The FTC’s Green Guides explain how truth-in-advertising principles apply to your green claims.

http://business.ftc.gov/multimedia/videos/green-guides

Your Advertising Legal Responsibility

You are in business and now need to develop marketing materials and a marketing and advertising campaign. There are rules that must be followed when marketing your services and products. Below are snippets of useful information from the Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center under the Federal Trade Commission.

Whether a business is an established global brand or a start-up, effective advertising and marketing can be the key to its success.  All businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure that advertising is truthful and not deceptive. No matter where an ad appears – on the Internet, on the radio or television, in newspapers and magazines, in the mail, or on billboards or buses – the same truth-in-advertising standard applies.  Additional standards apply if you use telemarketing in your promotional efforts.

Advertising and Marketing Basics

Under the law, claims in advertisements must be truthful, cannot be deceptive or unfair, and must be evidence-based. For some specialized products or services, additional rules may apply.

Children

If you advertise directly to children or market kid-related products to their parents, it is important to comply with truth-in-advertising standards.  (Questions about kids’ privacy? Check out the FTC’s resources about COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.)

Endorsements

Do you use endorsements or testimonials in your marketing? Do they meet the standards of the FTC Act and the Endorsement Guides?  Find out more by consulting FTC compliance resources.

Environmental Marketing

Companies are offering consumers an ever-growing assortment of “green” options. Whether your environmental claims are about the product or the packaging, you will need competent and reliable scientific evidence to support what you say. Find out more by consulting the FTC’s revised Green Guides.  Have you spotted what you think might be a deceptive claim or practice? Contact the FTC at green@ftc.gov.

Health Claims

Companies must support their advertising claims with solid proof. This is especially true for businesses that market food, over-the-counter drugs, dietary supplements, contact lenses, and other health-related products.

Made in the USA

Do you promote your products as “Made in the USA?” Under the law, some products must disclose U.S. content. For others, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content must comply with the FTC’s Made in the USA policy.  Is your company up-to-date on what’s required?

Online Advertising and Marketing

The Internet connects marketers to customers across the country and around the world. If you’re thinking about advertising online, remember the rules and guidelines that protect consumers also help businesses by maintaining the credibility of the Internet as an advertising medium.

Do you have questions about children’s online privacy? Read about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Telemarketing

The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule helps protect consumers from fraudulent telemarketing calls and gives them certain protections under the National Do Not Call Registry. Companies must be familiar with rules banning most forms of robocalling.  If you or someone working on your behalf is telemarketing products or services, know the dos and don’ts before planning your strategy.

Visit their website for more in depth information on each area – http://business.ftc.gov/advertising-and-marketing.