Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidance

FTC Issues Guidance on Native Advertising

The FTC released in December 2015 an enforcement statement and companion guide for businesses on native advertising, focusing particularly on digital media advertising. The watchword for the guidance is "transparency" -- the commercial nature of an ad is evident, either on its face or through appropriate disclosures. The Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements guidance points out, for example, that even if an ad is formatted the same way as content, the commercial nature of the ad may be obvious and not require disclosure. Similarly, sponsored content that does not pertain to a company's products or services would not require full disclosure; however, content that is produced by a publisher, but sponsored by the company and featuring or discussing company products, must be clearly disclosed.