Truth in Advertising

Legal principles requiring advertisements to be truthful, not misleading, and substantiated, enforced primarily by the Federal Trade Commission under Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices. While primarily a consumer protection rather than privacy issue, truth in advertising intersects with privacy when organizations make claims about their data practices, security measures, or privacy protections. Privacy-related advertising claims that must be truthful include: data collection and use representations, security and encryption claims, data sharing and selling statements, opt-out and control promises, compliance certifications, and anonymization or de-identification claims. The FTC has brought enforcement actions against companies making false privacy claims, treating them as deceptive practices. Organizations should: ensure privacy policy statements are accurate and current, substantiate security and privacy claims before making them, avoid vague or misleading privacy language, update policies when practices change, and train marketing teams on privacy compliance. Privacy claims in marketing materials, app store descriptions, and advertisements must align with actual practices and privacy policy disclosures.