Who are the key regulatory agencies that enforce laws relating to Direct Marketing?
• Federal Trade Commission The FTC is responsible for enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 41, and focuses on consumer deception/fraud. Violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 41) • An advertising message or business practice is unfair if it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury which a consumer could not reasonably avoid; and it is not outweighed by the benefit to consumers. FTC Policy Statement on Unfairness: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/policystmt/ad-unfair.htm • An advertising message is considered deceptive if it contains a statement or omits information that is likely to mislead reasonable consumers under the circumstances and the information is “material” or important to a consumer’s decision to buy or use the product. See FTC Policy Statement on Deception, appended to Cliffdale Associates, Inc., 103 F.T.C. at 174. • A statement also may be deceptive if the advertiser does not have a reasonable basis to support its claims. See FTC
