The document provides guidance from the FTC on disclosures for online and mobile advertising. Some key points are: disclosures cannot cure false claims and should be incorporated into claims when possible; hyperlinks used to disclose terms must be obvious, appropriately labeled, and take consumers directly to the qualifications; and material terms must be clear, conspicuous, and placed near the related claim before a purchase is made.

1. Mini Law Lesson: FTC’s New .com
Disclosures Guidance
Updated to Address Current Online and
Mobile Advertising Environment
Brian Heidelberger
Winston & Strawn
bheidelb@winston.com

2. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
• This is not legal advice.
• I am not your attorney.

3. General Rules
• Law hasn’t changed
• Disclosures can’t cure a false claim
• Can only qualify a claim to help keep it from being
misleading
• If information is material it must be clearly and
conspicuously disclosed
• Incorporate material limitations in the claim rather
than separate disclosure (when practical)
– If it can easily be incorporated in text, it should be

4. When Using a Hyperlink to
Disclose Material Terms
• Use an obvious link
• Label it to convey the information appropriately
• Don’t relegate material terms to “terms”
• Make links consistent in style
• Keep it close to the information is qualifies
• Take consumers directly to the qualifications on the
click-through
• Monitor click-through rates to assure effectiveness

5. Material Terms Must be
Clear and Conspicuous
• Try not to require scrolling
• If you require scrolling give text or visual cues
• Keep abreast of research on what consumers view on screen
• Make disclosures before and after people “add to cart”
• If sending people to store, make sure material limitations are
disclosed before they get there
• Repeat disclosures for long websites/or easily missed
• Don’t relegate important info to “legal”
• Audio Claims should have “audio” disclosures
• Make the limitations easy to understand
• Don’t make the ad if you can’t make it clear

6. Material Terms Should be Close to
Claim it Qualifies

7. Disclosure Needs to Consider
Mobile Use

8. Important Info Can Be On
Click-Through With Proper Disclosure

9. Important Info Can Be On
Click-Through With Proper Disclosure

10. A Highlighted Link is Likely Not
Enough

11. Abbreviations Are Hard to Use

12. Link Needs to be Close to Claim

13. Important Price Limitations Need
to be Near Price

14. Not Just on the Check Out Page

15. Material Connection Shouldn’t Just be
Disclosed Via an Unclear Short Link
• Good
• Bad

16. Disclosure in Multiple Tweets Can
Create Difficulties

17. Consumers Don’t Understand or
Read Every Hashtag

18. Disclosure of Blogger Affiliation
Shouldn’t be Relegated to The End