Week Four Discussion: Regulating Commercial
Speech
Discussion Board Overview
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Examine the hypothetical scenario below, and craft one initial post and at least two
response posts
Discussion Board Goals
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To understand the effect governmental regulations and agencies have on the
communications industry
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To explore how the FTC regulates commercial speech
Instructions
Initial post (at least 400 words):
Examine the hypothetical below, and craft an initial post. Upload your post to the Week Four
Discussion Board on FSO.
You are the public relations (PR) representative for a video game company. The advertising
department is creating a television ad about a video game that is launching, and you have been
asked to write additional PR material related to the launch. The new video game, “Smack the
Slug,” claims to improve the reaction time of children by 200%. You know that no formal studies
have been done, and that the information was based on testimonials. Nevertheless, your boss has
asked you to include this claim in your material.
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How does the FTC define deceptive advertising?
Do you have any concerns about including the claim in your PR material? How will you
respond to your boss?
If the FTC decides an ad is deceptive, what penalties can it impose?
How might an ad agency, PR firm, or website designer be held liable for any deception?
Response post (at least 100 words per response):
Review the Discussion Board Rubric, and respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts, using
the RISE model as your guide – Reflect, Inquire, Suggest, and Elevate.
Discussion Due Dates and Guidelines
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Initial post must be at least 400 words
Response post must be at least 100 words per response
Any outside sources must be properly cited
Check for spelling and grammar errors before uploading your posts
Student Response Example: Please respond in discussion format, so as to add to the
conversation. It just needs to be at least 100 words and, in a style, similar to the example I posted
below. It's like a conversation kind of reply, but also adding to what the students post is about.
This is an example from another student for a case on defamation. It is just an example of about
how the reply should go. I have attached the RISE feedback chart for reference as well.
The discussion post for this week is quite interesting. The case between Elon Musk and Vernon
involves serious accusations by the former on the latter, which are not substantiated. Elon
Musk is one of the most innovative leaders in the world, but he acts like a conceited person in
this case. The fact that he accuses Vernon without any proof because he criticized his rescue
plan is proof of his unprofessional character. He apologizes after posting the tweet, but it does
not mean that it is okay to go on accusing another individual without any proof. He needs to
work on his social skills in addition to his entrepreneurial wit. Good work on the post. Overall, I
enjoyed reading and analyzing the story. Another fascinating story that involves Musk is How to
Avoid Horrific Musk-Like Employee Reviews.
Student 1:
Venisia Gonzalez
How does the FTC define deceptive advertising?
The FTC defines deception as a representation, whether written or oral, that is likely to mislead
the consumer.
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Point of view of the “reasonable consumer.” Focusing on the ad in its context (phrases,
words, and/or pictures) determining the message sent to the audience (FTC, 2019).
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An express claim is made in the ad of what a product can do. An implied claim is made
indirectly or by conjecture of what a product will do. Under the law, advertisers must have
proof to back up any claims taken from an ad (FTC, 2019).
Failure to include information leaving a consumer with a misconception of a product (FTC,
2019).
The claim is absolute to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product. Examples of this
fall under product performance, effectiveness, safety, or price (FTC, 2019).
The advertiser has adequate evidence to support claims made in the ad. The law requires
that advertisers have proof before publishing the ad (FTC, 2019).
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Do you have any concerns about including the claim in your PR material? How will you
respond to your boss?
I would point out to my boss that the claim falls under deceptive practicing which violates sections
5, 12, and 15 of the FTC Act. We would discuss omitting the claim altogether. If that did not work,
in order to include the claim, a clear disclosure would be necessary to avoid a potential claim
against our company. The claim would state “customer testimony” with a disclosure stating it is not
verified ensuring protection against any liability. In this direction, I could include quotes from
customer testimonies that were sent into our customer service department and negate their names
for privacy.
If the FTC decides an ad is deceptive, what penalties can it impose?
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Consent decree: promise to stop the ad and reimburse the consumers mislead by the ad
Corrective decree: enforce a company to correct the ad and to inform the public the ad
was misleading
Affirmative Disclosure: provide consumers with the pros and cons of a product in the ad
How might an ad agency, PR firm, or website designer be held liable for any deception?
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The FTC determines if the ad agency, PR firm or website designer knew or should have
known that the ad was deceptive
The FTC determines the nature of the agency, firm or designer’s participation in the
creation of the ad
References
FTC. (2019, March 26). Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business. Retrieved from
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/advertising-faqs-guide-small-business
Student 2:
Shanti Texeira
“Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices unlawful” ("Federal
Trade Commission Act Section 5: Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices", 2019).
“Section 12 specifically prohibits false ads likely to induce the purchase of food, drugs,
devices or cosmetics. Section 15 defines a false ad for purposes of Section” ("FEDERAL
TRADE COMMISSION ACT", 2019).
How does the FTC define deceptive advertising?
There are common elements in all deception cases, they are as follows:
1. There must be representation, omission or practice to mislead the consumer, including but
not limited to procedures that are deceptive be it misleading oral or written, the sales of
defective items with no disclosure and deceptive pyramid schemes, not performing the
services promised"FTC Policy Statement on Deception", 2019).
2. Examination reasonableness in the person or group in question. All facets of the situation
are examined including the verbiage utilized so that intent can be established, and it can
be ascertained that there are no misunderstandings. That the omission (of facts),
representation (of a product) or practice (service) is a material one. (Material meaning
that the deceptive practice is one which is likely to affect a consumer's choice of or conduct
regarding a product) "FTC Policy Statement on Deception", 2019).
3. Was this intended to deceive the customer? Will the misleading verbiage sway the
consumer’s decision leading them to procure a product or service because if the consumer
was likely to chosen differently then consumer injury is expected ("FTC Policy Statement on
Deception", 2019).
o Interestingly enough, the FTC in recent news increased the maximum dollar amount
from 16,000 to 40,000, and it applies to all affected violations and although the
FTC cannot assess civil penalties it can authorize a federal court to assess them
("FTC Attorney | Penalties for Conviction of FTC Violations", 2019), because
technically the FTC is a civil law enforcement agency and if there are criminal law
violations they do inform criminal prosecutors. The FTC and federal courts look at
the culpability degree, whether or not the business has done this before, the impact
it will have on continuing business and last but not least, their ability to pay the fine
in order to ascertain the amount they will ask for when imposing("FTC Attorney |
Penalties for Conviction of FTC Violations", 2019).
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Do you have any concerns about including the claim in your PR material? How will you
respond to your boss?
o Yes, my concerns would be about the wording of the PR material, but I would write
it in such a way that’s honest and submit it and discuss his potential objections at
that time. For example: “The powerful testimonials are in, according to the parents
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who have taken our survey’s, “Smack the Smug” appears to have improved the
reaction time of their children by 200%. (Results not guaranteed).
If the FTC decides an ad is deceptive, what penalties can it impose?
How might an ad agency, PR firm, or website designer be held liable for any deception?
o Under the law, (all) claims in advertisements must be truthful, cannot be deceptive
or unfair, and must be evidence-based ("Advertising and Marketing", 2019) and
could have actions filed in federal district court for prompt and permanent cease
and desist orders that would prevent future scams… the FTC could also freeze
assets.
o In the case of a website designer, the law is inclusive because the internet is
considered a marketing medium("Advertising and Marketing", 2019).
References:
Advertising and Marketing. (2019). Retrieved 30 July 2019, from https://www.ftc.gov/tipsadvice/business-center/advertising-and-marketing
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT. (2019). Retrieved 30 July 2019, from
https://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Federal%20Trade%20Commission%20Act.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5: Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices. (2019). Retrieved
30 July 2019, from https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/ftca.pdf
FTC aids criminal prosecutions. (2019). Retrieved 30 July 2019, from
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/06/ftc-aids-criminal-prosecutions
FTC Attorney | Penalties for Conviction of FTC Violations. (2019). Retrieved 30 July 2019, from
https://www.gordonlawltd.com/penalties-ftc-violations/
FTC Policy Statement on Deception. (2019). Retrieved 30 July 2019, from
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/410531/831014deceptionstmt.
pdf
ELEVATE
Raise to a higher degree or purpose in FUTURE iterations
EXAMPLE STEMS:
RISE
MODEL
CREATING
Perhaps you can expand this in X capacity to further address Y.
Perhaps you can re-purpose X as Y for Z.
EVALUATING
SUGGEST
Introduce ideas for improvement of CURRENT iteration
EXAMPLE STEMS:
ANALYZING
You might consider tweaking X for Y effect.
You might want to include supporting information from X resource.
The RISE Model for Peer Feedback is a tool
that structures and facilitates the giving
and receiving of meaningful critiques.
INQUIRE
APPLYING
Seek information and provide ideas through questioning
By addressing a series of stems aligned
with Bloom's Taxonomy, students are
prompted to use higher order thinking
skills in the delivery of constructive
feedback to their peers.
UNDERSTANDING
EXAMPLE STEMS:
Have you considered looking at X from Y perspective?
When you said X, am I understanding you to mean Y?
Visit www.RISEModel.com for licensing and
implementation information.
REFLECT
Recall, ponder, and articulate
REMEMBERING
EXAMPLE STEMS:
I relate/concur/disagree with X because Y.
I liked what you did with X because Y.
© 2011 Emily Wray | All Rights Reserved
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