Get Compliant. Get Conversions

January 12, 2014 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

What truth-in-advertising rules apply to advertisers?

Under the Federal Trade Commission Act:•Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;•Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and•Advertisements cannot be unfair.

What makes an advertisement deceptive?

• According to the FTC's Policy Statement on Deception, an ad is deceptive if it contains a statement - or omits information - that:

• Is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances; and

• Is "material" - that is, important to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product.

• http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/policystmt/ad-decept.htm

How does the FTC determine if an ad is deceptive?

• The FTC looks at the ad from the point of view of the "reasonable consumer”.

• The FTC looks at both "express" and "implied" claims.

• The FTC looks at what the ad does not say.• The FTC looks at whether the claim would be

"material”.• The FTC looks at whether the advertiser has

sufficient evidence to support the claims in the ad.

• http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus35-advertising-faqs-guide-small-business

Mobile Standard of Deceptive

• Something considered “non-deceptive” on a desktop, may be “deceptive” on mobile.

• FTC considers the medium the ad is served in, not just the language of the ad.

• Dotcom Disclosures: – If a disclosure is required and it cannot be made in

a clear and conspicuous fashion, the advertisement should not be disseminated.

Mobile –Cont.

• When users have to scroll to see a disclosure, the FTC recommends that the advertiser use text or visual cues (e.g., “see below for important warranty information”) to alert the reader to scroll and that the disclosure be “unavoidable” (i.e., that the consumer be precluded from proceeding without scrolling through the entire disclosure).

• In light of the smaller screen for mobile devices, Web sites should be optimized when viewed on mobile devices to eliminate users from having to scroll left, right, or down to view the entire disclosure

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/negativeoption/presentations/Fair.pdf

CA BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODESECTION 17600-17606

• 17602. (a) It shall be unlawful for any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to do any of the following:

• (1) Fail to present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the offer.

• (2) Charge the consumer's credit or debit card or the consumer's account with a third party for an automatic renewal or continuous service without first obtaining the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms.

• (3) Fail to provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer. If the offer includes a free trial, the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to cancel and allow the consumer to cancel before the consumer pays for the goods or services.

• "Clear and conspicuous" or "clearly and conspicuously" means in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks, in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language. In the case of an audio disclosure, "clear and conspicuous" and "clearly and conspicuously" means in a volume and cadence sufficient to be readily audible and understandable.

Questions?Moderator:

Amber Paul, Global Wide MediaAmber@globalwidemedia.com

Speakers: Blaine Lebrone, One Technologies, Inc.

Blabron@otcorporate.com

Sarah de Diego, De Diego LawSarah@dediegolaw.net

Nate Seibert, Madrivo MediaNate@Madrivo.com