Facebook Ads Face New Restrictions and 2 Other Buzzing Social Media Stocks

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB): Advertisers should think twice before they place promotional messages on mobile and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, if the ads require disclosures or disclaimers in order to avoid being deceptive or unfair, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission stated on Tuesday, reports Reuters. This year, as in the last report that was issued in 2000, the FTC stated that it holds online advertisers to the same standards of honesty and full disclosure as newspapers and television. However, the limited space available on mobile platforms maintained by Twitter, Facebook, etc., can cause it to be difficult to place appropriate disclosures close enough to the ad for users to see it. ”Advertisers should make sure their disclosures are clear and conspicuous on all devices and platforms that consumers may use to view their ads,” the FTC’s Lesley Fair claimed via a blog post accompanying the 53-page report. ”That means that if an ad would be deceptive or unfair (or would otherwise violate an FTC rule) without a disclosure — but the disclosure can’t be made clearly and conspicuously on a particular device or platform — then that ad shouldn’t run on that device or platform,” Fair added.