Research Guides: Advertising Law Research Guide: Specialized Products or Services

Specialized Products or Services

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

900-Number Rule The 900-Number Rule requires disclosures about the cost of telephone-based entertainment or information services -- known as "audiotext" services -- that consumers access by dialing a 900 number. These disclosures must be made in the advertising of any 900-number audiotext service, and also in a free "preamble" message included at the beginning of any audiotext program. See 16 CFR 308.
Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation, has essentially two missions: (1) to protect children from deceptive or inappropriate advertising in all media, and; (2) to ensure that, in an online environment, children’s data is collected and handled in a responsible manner.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act This Act protects children's privacy by giving parents tools to control what information is collected from their children online. The Act requires the FTC to promulgate regulations requiring operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13 or knowingly collecting personal information from children under 13. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA") The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over what information websites can collect from their kids. The COPPA Rule puts additional protections in place and streamlines other procedures that companies covered by the rule need to follow. See 15 U.S.C. 6501–6505 and 16 CFR Part 312.
Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents Since 1980, childhood obesity rates have tripled among adolescents and doubled among younger children. While many factors contribute to childhood obesity, regardless of the causes, responsible marketing can play a positive role in improving children's diets and physical activity level. The FTC has been actively working with government agencies, consumer advocates, academics, and industry to foster creative and effective self-regulatory initiatives to help combat childhood obesity.
Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992 The Act requires the FTC to promulgate certain regulations respecting advertising for, operation of, and billing and collection procedures for, pay-per-call or "900 number" telephone services. The regulations must include certain provisions, such as price disclosure requirements, mandatory warnings on services directed to children, and required disclosures in billing statements. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 5701-5724.

Endorsements

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising 16 CFR 255

Environmental Marketing

Environmental Claims: Summary of the Green Guides This summary of the Guides introduces how truth-in-advertising principles apply to green marketing and highlights terms often used in environmental ads.
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims ("Green Guides") See 77 Fed. Reg. 62122.

Health Claims

Advertising & Marketing 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.
Contact Lens Rule See 16 CFR Part 315. The Contact Lens Rule contains two key requirements. The first requirement is that contact lens prescribers (i.e., optometrists and ophthalmologists) must provide patients with a copy of their contact lens prescriptions at the completion of a contact lens fitting. The second requirement is that a contact lens seller cannot provide contact lenses to its customer unless the seller either obtains a copy of the prescription or verifies the prescription information with the prescriber through procedures set forth in the Rule. The purpose of these requirements is to enhance consumer choice and competition among contact lens sellers, thereby benefiting consumers.
Eyeglass Rule The Eyeglass Rule requires that optometrists and ophthalmologists provide patients a copy of their prescription after the completion of an eye examination without extra cost. In addition, the Rule prohibits optometrists and ophthalmologists from conditioning the availability of an examination on a requirement that patients agree to purchase any ophthalmic goods. See 16 CFR Part 456.
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act See 16 C.F.R. Parts 500, 501, 502, 503. The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA or Act), enacted in 1967, directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration to issue regulations requiring that all "consumer commodities" be labeled to disclose net contents, identity of commodity, and name and place of business of the product's manufacturer, packer, or distributor. The Act authorizes additional regulations where necessary to prevent consumer deception (or to facilitate value comparisons) with respect to descriptions of ingredients, slack fill of packages, use of "cents-off" or lower price labeling, or characterization of package sizes.

Made in USA

Complying with the Made in USA Standard Marketers and manufacturers that promote their products as Made in USA must meet the “all or virtually all” standard. This publication offers practical guidance on Made in USA claims.
FTC Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims FTC statement to provide guidance regarding its enforcement policy with respect to the use of "Made in USA" and other U.S. origin claims in advertising and labeling.

Online Advertising and Marketing

.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising This publication offers practical tips on how to make effective disclosures online.
Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road The Internet is connecting advertisers and marketers to customers from Boston to Bali with text, interactive graphics, video and audio. If you're thinking about advertising on the Internet, remember that many of the same rules that apply to other forms of advertising apply to electronic marketing. These rules and guidelines protect businesses and consumers - and help maintain the credibility of the Internet as an advertising medium. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prepared this guide to give you an overview of some of the laws it enforces.
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) See 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d). Intended to prevent the abusive registration and use of the distinctive trademarks of others as Internet domain names, with the intent to profit from the goodwill associated with those trademarks.
CAN-SPAM Rule See 16 CFR Part 316. The CAN-SPAM Act requires the Commission to issue regulations “defining the relevant criteria to facilitate the determination of the primary purpose of an electronic mail message.” The CAN-SPAM Act applies almost exclusively to “commercial electronic mail messages”.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act This Act protects children's privacy by giving parents tools to control what information is collected from their children online. The Act requires the FTC to promulgate regulations requiring operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13 or knowingly collecting personal information from children under 13. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA") The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over what information websites can collect from their kids. The COPPA Rule puts additional protections in place and streamlines other procedures that companies covered by the rule need to follow. See 15 U.S.C. 6501–6505 and 16 CFR Part 312.
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) See 47 U.S.C. § 230. § 230 of the CDA provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users.
Consumer Review Fairness Act The Consumer Review Fairness Act protects consumers’ ability to share their honest opinions about a business’s products, services, or conduct in any forum. See H.R. 5111, 114th Cong. (2016).
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act) See 15 U.S.C §§ 7701-7713. This Act establishes requirements for those who send unsolicited commercial email. The Act bans false or misleading header information and prohibits deceptive subject lines. It also requires that unsolicited commercial email be identified as advertising and provide recipients with a method for opting out of receiving any such email in the future. In addition, the Act directs the FTC to issue rules requiring the labeling of sexually explicit commercial email as such and establishing the criteria for determining the primary purpose of a commercial email.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) See H.R. 2281, 105th Cong. (1998). The DMCA amended Title 17 of the United States Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of the providers of online services for copyright infringement by their users.
Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule See 16 CFR Part 435. The Rule, issued in 1975, requires sellers who solicit buyers to order merchandise through the mail, via the Internet, or by phone to have a reasonable basis to expect that the sellers can ship within the advertised time frame, or, if no time frame is specified, within 30 days. The Rule also requires that, when a seller cannot ship within the promised time, the seller must obtain the buyer’s consent to a delay in shipping or refund payment for the unshipped merchandise.

Telemarketing

Crimes Against Charitable Americans Act of 2001 See Section 1011 of the USA Patriot Act, Pub. L. No. 107-56, 115 Stat. 272, codified in relevant part at 15 U.S.C. § 6102 and § 6106. Section 1011 amends the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act to cover “charitable solicitations.” It requires the FTC to expand the scope of the Telemarketing Sales Rule to cover for-profit third parties that solicit charitable contributions on behalf of non-profit charities. The Act further specifies that the FTC's telemarketing rules must include a requirement that anyone engaged in telemarketing for the solicitation of charitable contributions must clearly disclose that as the purpose of the call and authorizes the FTC to prescribe other disclosures it considers appropriate.
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (TCFAPA) See 15 U.S.C. §§ 6101-6108. The Act, as amended, requires the FTC to promulgate regulations (a) defining and prohibiting deceptive telemarketing acts or practices; (b) prohibiting telemarketers from engaging in a pattern of unsolicited telephone calls that a reasonable consumer would consider coercive or an invasion of privacy; (c) restricting the hours of the day and night when unsolicited telephone calls may be made to consumers; and (d) requiring disclosure of the nature of the call at the start of an unsolicited call made to sell goods or services. Laws specifically related to Do-Not-Call and to charitable solicitations are listed separately.
Telemarketing Sales Rule The Telemarketing Sales Rule, which requires telemarketers to make specific disclosures of material information; prohibits misrepresentations; sets limits on the times telemarketers may call consumers; prohibits calls to a consumer who has asked not to be called again; and sets payment restrictions for the sale of certain goods and services. See 16 CFR 310.