Much has changed since the Federal Trade Commission last updated its guidelines for online advertising in 2000. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was still in high school, Google had less visitors than Geocities.com and Netscape.com, and the total number of Internet users worldwide was less than 20 percent of what it is today.
So last month, the FTC announced that it will dust off its guidelines for online advertising, “Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising,” and freshen them up. Among the questions it is considering: What issues raised by new Internet activities or features, or by new laws or regulations, should be addressed? And what specific types of online disclosures raise unique issues?
