From the “FTC Act” aka 15 U.S.C. § 45 aka Section 5:
“The Commission is hereby empowered and directed to prevent persons, partnerships, or corporations from using unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”
Okay, so that’s what is said, in the unofficial version of the FTC Act that I read, downloaded from the ftc.gov website and have edited out the part about banks and such, because it doesn’t quite apply here…
Another paragraph, or section, unedited:
“The Commission shall have no authority under this section or section 57a of this title to declare unlawful an act or practice on the grounds that such act or practice is unfair unless the act or practice causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition. In determining whether an act or practice is unfair, the Commission may consider established public policies as evidence to be considered with all other evidence. Such public policy considerations may not serve as a primary basis for such determination.”
Before I go further, I will disclose that I am NOT a lawyer and have NOT been schooled in lawyering, and everything stated here by me (in fact on any site owned, operated or participated in by me), unless attributed to someone else by name, is my own OPINION and SUPPOSITION, and is NOT legal advice, nor should it be construed as such.
Okay, the first part above, the one that I edited the part out about banks and such, is saying that I, as a marketer of goods and services, cannot lie about said goods and services, nor can I be unfair in trying to compete with others marketing the same types of goods and services. Hmmm, okay, I’m down with that. I try very hard not to lie in my marketing efforts (and can’t think of an instance where I have, though there may be somewhere I may have been wrong in what I believed to be true), and I hardly think that my blogs, or other websites (because I thought up, and purchased lawfully the domain names and hosting thereof) constitute unfair competition. Of course, who’s to decide what’s fair, or unfair? Is it unfair that I have worked hard to gain what knowledge that I have gained, to enable me to think up the content, the domain names, the hosting structures I choose to use? Well, is it? I’m going to SUPPOSE, “reasonably”, that it is NOT unfair…
On to the next part I quoted from the FTC Act. It talks about SUBSTANTIAL INJURY. That part mentions REASONABLY AVOIDABLE. So, I’m thinking nothing I’ve blogged about, built websites about, created content about (to the best of my knowledge) can, or could, or will cause anyone SUBSTANTIAL INJURY, unless one were to convert all that content into printed material, and then took the weight of that printed material and made a sledgehammer of the same weight, and then smacked themselves upside the head REPEATEDLY with it. I truly believe that scenario is REASONABLY AVOIDABLE.
Now I’m NOT going to throw down a gauntlet at the FTC, or any other authority, and say examine me, and my properties, because I also truly believe that if one is bound and determined to find fault with something of mine, or of anyone else’s, they will find fault. I have made reasonable efforts, and will continue to do so, to disclose what benefits or remuneration I receive (if applicable) in what it is that I do, marketing… I will also endeavor to link to this post where I feel it is necessary to be linked from. So there…
Be Well!
ECS Dave
P.S. The link to the document I reference, and a link to the guidelines recently published; The FTC Act: http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/FTC_Act_IncorporatingUS_SAFE_WEB_Act.pdf and the guidelines: http://ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf
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