Advertising disclosures are not a cure-all even though many people think so, said Yan Fang, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission.
“You can’t disclaim away a falsehood,” she said at the Auto Finance Risk and Compliance Summit in San Diego on Monday.
The FTC often encounters prominent, misleading claims in auto dealership ads, followed by disclaimers revealing the main point of the ad is untrue, or untrue for most people, she said.
For instance, an offer may be exclusively for new customers, or military members, she said.
“A company isn’t shielded from liability because a customer got a disclaimer,” she said. “If the initial contact is ensured by deception, that violates the law.”
