Today, the Federal Trade Commission released a long-overdue update to its 2000 Staff Guidance document Dot Com Disclosures. In the new guidance, titled “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising,” the FTC takes into account the expanding use of smart phones with small screens and the risks associated with social media marketing. The report has 3 key take-a-ways: (i) old school consumer protection and advertising laws still apply regardless of how companies market, whether by print, radio, tv, online or through mobile applications; (ii) disclosures must be clear and conspicuous to prevent an online advertisement from being deceptive or unfair; and (iii) disclosures should be as “close as possible” to the relevant claim and hyperlinks should be labeled as specifically as possible. We will have a more detailed analysis of the new .com Disclosures in a subsequent post.
