|
FTC'S PITOFSKY PLANS TO HOLD STEADY ON NATIONAL
ADVERTISING ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
Will Increase Emphasis of Self Regulation, Media
Screening and New Remedies
Federal
Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky told a group of advertising
executives that he encourages expanded media screening of ads and being
more aggressive in ensuring the Commission uses all the remedies available
to it -- from cease and desist orders to corrective notices and other forms
of consumer education, to redress and civil penalties, to corrective
advertising where appropriate. The agency continues its record of strong
enforcement against false and deceptive claims, he said. Pitofsky said
future adjustments may be necessary to reflect changing conditions in the
marketplace -- including technological changes such as the growth of the
Internet as a marketing medium, and the globalization of consumer
protection issues.
Pitofsky
heralded the advertising industry's self-regulation program as a model of
effectiveness, and noted the FTC's recent endorsement of programs in the
medical insurance and funeral industries to boost compliance with
FTC-enforced regulations. He called on the media to expand advertising
screening programs, such as those of the major networks, to other forms of
media, broadcast, electronic and print, to prevent ads with facially
implausible claims from continuing to "slip through the cracks."
Toward that end, he said, the FTC had in some recent cases identified by
the name the media in which challenged advertising ran.
Reducing
consumer fraud also remains an important FTC goal, but being successful
depends on doing "a better job of inoculating consumers against frauds
in the first place," Pitofsky said.
As to
remedies, Pitofsky cited several cases exemplifying the Commission's use of
a broader range of consumer education and financial remedies, and said he
believes the Commission should consider corrective advertising in
appropriate cases.
<-- Back
|
