Social Media Law for Business: A Practical Guide for Using Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Blogs Without Stepping on Legal Land Mines

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How to Make Required Disclosures in Digital Advertising

In March 2013, the Federal Trade Commission issued an update, its first since 2000, of its seminal digital advertising guidelines, known as the “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising.” The update takes into “account the expanding use of smartphones with small screens and the rise of social media marketing,” providing mock ads (some of which are “tweets”) to illustrate the updated principles.

IF THE DISCLOSURE GUIDELINES ARE MERELY “GUIDELINES,” DO WE REALLY HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM?

Let’s attack the easy question first: “If these are simply ‘guidelines’ we’re talking about, and not administrative regulations, do we really need to follow them?” This question ...