Internet Advertising Laws
U.S. Government — Good marketing is critical to the success of your business. Marketing has many dimensions, including market research, pricing, advertising, packaging and labeling, distribution and customer service. Investing in a good marketing plan will generate excellent returns.
But there’s more to a winning marketing plan or advertising campaign than a profitable product or service. Unfair, untruthful or purposely deceptive advertising can result in costly penalties.
An old cartoon in the New Yorker showed two dogs in front of a computer, and had the caption “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog.” The inherent anonymity of the Internet has fostered a number of shady advertising and marketing practices, such as unsolicited e-mail spam. Over the past decade, federal and state governments have passed additional advertising laws that protect consumer privacy and ensure fair and truthful advertising practices online. If you plan to advertise online — whether you’re buying ads on search engines or direct marketing through e-mail — you’ll need to understand some basic rules.