Native Ads – FTC Guardian

Native advertising grows up fast, shedding its rogue image

Allyn Cutts — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 10:39:29 +0000

Native advertising grows up fast, shedding its rogue image

It was five years ago next month, soon after native advertising had burst on the digital scene, that the Federal Trade Commission took note and convened a hearing on whether the genre was deceptive, regularly disguised as real journalism content.

A lot has changed since. At top-of-the-line operations like the New York Times, the Atlantic and Vox Media, sponsored content is part of the mix, even sometimes the dominant part of the ad base. Those three outlets and other publishers have created well-staffed in-house “studios” to produce the ads.

In a nutshell, the FTC decided to narrow its focus to direct-to-consumer ads of commercial products (as opposed, for instance to political ads or marketing services to business customers). The test, the guide explains, is transparency: “An advertisement or promotional message shouldn’t suggest or imply to consumers that it’s anything other than an ad.”

Read full article and learn more about Native Advertising here.

Here’s How To Make Sure You, Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.

FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected. And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.

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Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You’re In The FTC Crosshairs.

And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It’s not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Neither the author nor FTC Guardian, Inc. is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC Begins Crackdown On Behavioral Ads – Is Your Site In The Cross Hairs?

Allyn Cutts — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 15:59:45 +0000

The FTC Begins Crackdown On Behavioral Ads – Is Your Site In The Cross Hairs?

By Chip Cooper, Esq.

On March 14, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its first behavioral advertising settlement. If your website collects behavioral data or serves behavioral ads – either directly or indirectly through the use of behavioral ad vendors – you need to understand and comply with the FTC’s notice and choice principles, or suffer the consequences.

What Is Behavioral Advertising?

Behavioral ads are based on anonymous data collected on how a user’s computer browses the Internet, including websites visited, searches made, and content read. This data is used to create a behavioral profile that is linked to a specific demographic. The ads seen by the computer’s user are tailored to the user’s interests resulting in significantly increased relevancy and sales.

Contextual ads, in contrast to behavioral ads, are based solely on the content of the specific website page the user is viewing. Because contextual ads are generally not as relevant to the user’s interests as behavioral ads, contextual ads are less effective, and therefore less profitable.

Although behavioral data is essentially anonymous when collected, the FTC and privacy advocates are concerned that the amount and depth of some data could lead to personal identification of users. In addition, even if users are not personally identified, the enhanced data about them could rise to the level of an invasion of privacy.

The Chitka Settlement

In 2009, the FTC issued a staff report on behavioral advertising that explained the FTC’s principles regarding behavioral data. The FTC believes that its deceptive and a violation of the FTC Act to fail to provide to consumers proper notice and opt-out choice regarding the collection of behavioral data. The FTC’s settlement with Chitka, Inc. is the first settlement based on these principles.

Chitka is an intermediary between advertisers and websites that serve ads for the advertisers. To collect behavioral data, Chitka passes a cookie on users’ computers and then uses the cookie to tracks the users’ online behavior.

The FTC alleged in its Complaint that for over two years Chitka advised consumers that if they wanted to opt out of behavioral tracking they could click on a button titled “opt out”. Clicking the button would generate a message that read “you are opted out”. The catch according to the FTC is that the opt out lasted only for ten days, and then new cookies would be passed to consumers’ computers resulting in tracking of behavioral data for serving behavioral ads.

In its settlement with the FTC, Chitka agreed to:

delete all identifiable user information collected ineffective opt out period,
provide consumers with a new opt out mechanism that lasts for at least five years, and
notify consumers whose opt out was ineffective to opt out again.

Chitka also agreed to a notice and opt out procedure that could be interpreted as a blue print for what the FTC believes is generally required for all sites that collect behavioral data. This procedure includes:

A message on the home page that reads “we collect information about your activities on certain websites to send you targeted advertisements. To opt out of [our] targeted ads, click here.”
The “here” link points to an opt out page where the user is notified that opt out means the information would not be used for behavioral ads, the status of the opt out (in or out), and that opt out is limited to a specific browser and should be repeated if another browser is used.
A link on any behavioral ad that reads “Opt Out?”, and that provides text when the users’ cursor hovers over the ad that reads “Opt Out of Targeted Ads”. The Opt Out? link would point to the opt out page described above.

Conclusion

The Chitka settlement clearly establishes that the FTC believes it’s a deceptive practice under the FTC Act to fail to provide notice and opt out choice regarding behavioral ads. What’s more important is that the notice and opt out procedure agreed to in the settlement may be a clear indication of the specific procedure that the FTC requires for compliance.

Here’s How To Make Sure You, Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.

Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You’re In The FTC Crosshairs.

And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!

Crackdown On Fake News Sites

Allyn Cutts — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 17:22:24 +0000

FTC Accelerates Crackdown On Fake News Sites

By Chip Cooper, Esq.

We’ve all seen headlines in search results like this one – “XYZ Exposed: Miracle Diet or Scam”. And perhaps we actually believed there was objective reporting or unbiased commentary behind the headline. But after reading the web page, it was clear that the headline was just a clever way to catch your attention and lure you to a sales page with an aggressive sales pitch.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has seen these headlines too, and the FTC doesn’t think they’re clever at all. In fact, the FTC believes they constitute deceptive and unfair trade practices, as indicated by the FTC’s accelerated crackdown on affiliates of a popular diet drink with aggressive weight loss claims.

Modus Operandi

The modus operandi of these sites was to start with attention grabbing headlines such as the one listed above and these additional ones – “News 6 News Alerts,” “Health News Health Alerts,” or “Health 5 Beat Health News.”

The sites presented what appeared to be a skeptical commentator who raises the question of whether the diet drink is really effective. The commentator appeared to be objective; however, after a few paragraphs the commentator would conclude that use of the diet drink would result in a 25-pound weight loss in 4 weeks – all this without changing diet or exercise according to the FTC. The prices for the supplement ranged between $70 and $100.

The FTC’s Claims

When the FTC originally initiated law suits against these sites, Charles Harwood, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stated: “We are alleging that nearly everything about these Web sites is false and deceptive”. In addition, the FTC pointed out that the defendants aggressively promoted the deceptive ads by spending millions of dollars for placement on high volume websites resulting in millions of views by consumers and substantial sales.

Specifically, the FTC contended that the offending sites:

failed to disclose their material relationships involving the payment of affiliate commissions with the merchants of the products;

failed to produce independent tests to support the claims made prior to public dissemination;

included a section of “consumer comments” that were completely fabricated;

used infringing logos of reputable media outlets such as ABC, Fox News, CNN and Consumer Reports to give the false impression of credibility; and

misappropriated the image of a French reporter for use on the sites.

The Settlements

The cases brought by the FTC were against six affiliates of the merchant that manufactured and supplied the weight loss supplement.

In the settlements, the defendants agreed that they will permanently cease their allegedly deceptive practice of using fake news websites. In addition, the settlements require that the defendants cease making deceptive claims about their other products, including work-at-home schemes and penny auctions which most of them promoted.

The big hammer in the settlements included fines in an aggregate amount which represented the affiliate commissions the defendants received through their fake news sites.

These settlement results clearly indicate that the FTC aggressively pursued every dollar they could under the circumstances (the final amounts left most of them with few real assets, if any):

one defendant’s $2.5 million judgment was suspended when he pays $280,000 and records a $39,500 lien on his home;

another defendant’s fine of $204,000 was suspended pending the payment of $13,000 plus the proceeds from the sale of a BMW automobile, and

still another defendant was suspended pending the payment of almost $80,000 over a 3 year period.

Conclusion

The take-aways from these cases include:

fake news sites are virtually guaranteed to get you sued by the FTC,

ditto for fake testimonials or user comments,

diet supplements of any kind are high on the FTC’s radar screen for regulatory scrutiny,

the FTC is serious about enforcing its guidelines that affiliates are required to conspicuously disclose the fact that they are paid commissions for endorsements,

consistent with the FTC’s long-standing policy, advertising claims should be substantiated prior to public dissemination.

The FTC continues to make it absolutely clear that the days of the “Wild, Wild West” on the Internet, when it was open season on deceptive marketing practices, is clearly over for good.

Here’s How To Make Sure You, Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.

The training is titled: 3 Tragic (Legal) Privacy Policy List Building Mistakes That Can Get You In Hot Water With The FTC Today – Resulting In Your Business Being Shut Down… And How To Solve It!

Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

Why 2014 Was a Significant Year For Online Businesses, And Why You Should Be Worried!

The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You're In The FTC Crosshairs.

And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!

#StraightOutta the Internet: From brands to celebs, the NWA meme takes over the Web – Digiday

Allyn Cutts — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 13:18:03 +0000

#StraightOutta the Internet: From brands to celebs, the NWA meme takes over the Web

It was all about the hashtag this weekend with the release of Straight Outta Compton and the brilliant marketing team behind the idea. Although I myself have not seen the movie, the endless entertainment this meme has provided is exceptional.

However, on a serious note, the Straight Outta hashtag is undeniable proof of the power of native advertising and social media when used correctly and in compliance with the FTC.

Could you do this or something similar with your business?

Internet, meet your new inescapable meme.

As a way to promote the upcoming biographical movie about N.W.A., called “Straight Outta Compton,” advertising firm North Kingdom, together with Beats by Dre, created a template that lets users replace the California city with a city of their choosing and a background picture.

From there, the picture can be easily uploaded to Facebook or Twitter creating an infectious viral meme that slyly serves as a promotional tool. The meme has also infiltrated Instagram, but the sharing process is less seamless since they have to take a screenshot then upload it to the photo-sharing app.

Since its inception last week, the #StraightOutta hashtag exploded with 7,000 tweets over the weekend. It blew up on Instagram, with 141,000 total pictures with the hashtag with most of them using the template.

Some used the meme seriously while others made it into a joke. Let’s review who used it, starting with celebrities:

Even the boss is about it. S/O to @Oprah. #StraightOutta pic.twitter.com/MsgRmEh6j1

#StraightOutta BROOKLYN!! @beatsbydre https://t.co/HOYDLNVFgh pic.twitter.com/eMD8hN8GD6

Obviously brands couldn’t resist:

Cruisin down the street, with my Slim 4 #StraightOutta pic.twitter.com/rwdim4dbky

Hedgehog Life. #StraightOutta pic.twitter.com/wlrGsQREE0

That moment when… #StraightOutta pic.twitter.com/7mRF7URxXc

Started from the bottom now we’re here! #StraightOutta pic.twitter.com/d5KXq82Zsc

But the best mic drop of all was probably this one:

This might be the best #StraightOutta that I’ve seen .. Smh, definitely outta patience … pic.twitter.com/tbWIdMe4zo

via #StraightOutta the Internet: From brands to celebs, the NWA meme takes over the Web – Digiday

Here’s How To Make Sure You,
Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant

By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?

Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.

Here are some of the things you’ll discover on the training:

Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn’t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too

Why 2014 Was a Significant Year For Online Businesses, And Why You Should Be Worried!

The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life – And Your Family’s Life – Forever!

How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms

3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You're In The FTC Crosshairs.

And Much More…

Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it’s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!