The Federal Trade Commission recently announced long-awaited updates to its Endorsement Guides (”Guides”), along with a new proposed rule banning fake reviews and testimonials. The Guides provide direction to advertisers to ensure that advertising using endorsements or reviews is truthful and provide examples of the types of practices that may be considered unfair or deceptive under the FTC Act. The Guides were last updated in 2009, long before some of today’s most popular online advertising platforms even existed. The updated Guides address new and changing issues presented by the contemporary advertising landscape and provide extensive examples of the types of advertising practices that would (or would not) be considered violations of the FTC Act.
