Disapproval of private group advertising review board

No. 59. Disapproval of private group advertising review board. The Federal Trade Commission today announced an advisory opinion disapproving a proposed private group advertising review board to control advertising practices in a particu1ar 10cality. The requesting party stated that the review board is to consist of not more than 20 representatives of business and trade groups in the area, and its function is to consider comp1aints of violations of advertising standards estab1ished by the organization representing such business and trade groups. Hearing on such complaints are proposed to be he1d by a pane1 of 7 or more members of the review board, none of whom shalJ be in direct competition with the advertiser. This procedure is to be invoked only after other efforts to correct the practice have been exhausted. Decisions on the merits of each case wi1 be made by the panel and sha11 be considered as setting precedent for succeeding panels. Where an advertiser has been cited by a pane1 for violating the standards and fails to comply within a specified time, a letter is to be sent to local media requesting them to require the advertiser to comply with the decisions of the panel. Although expressing sympathy with the 1audable motives of the requesting party, the Commission advised that "approval cannot be given the proposed Advertising Review Board in its present form. Long ago the courts recognized that voluntary action to end abuses and to foster fair competitive opportunities were in the pub1ic interest and could be even more effective than 1ega1 processes. However, the law has also long recognized that this right of businessmen to police themselves is not without limitations and is certain1y not a 1icense for private groups to employ ilegal methods in the pursuit of desirable objectives. The Commission pointed out that "absolute regulation of a11 advertising practices down to and including the determination of individua1 rights and the imposition of a penalty in the form of interference with the individual's right to advertise . * * is the ultimate authority which can on1y be exercised pursuant to legislative grant and subject to proper judical review. Were a private group to assert this power for itself it would mean that the judicial process of interpretation and enforcement wou1d be carried on without the careful1y developed safeguards which the Jaw normal1y imposes upon the process. Unlike the government agency and the courts, the only restrictions private bodies are subject to are those restrictions they see fit to impose upon themselves. " (File No. 643 7015, re1eased June 17, 1966. No.-60. Advertising of diamonds as "clear, pure, color. The Federal Trade Commission has advised a jewelry firm proposing to advertise diamonds as "clear, pure color" that a substantia1 segment of the purchasing pub1ic would understand the c1aim to mean a top grade white (or colorless) diamond and that it should not be used to describe a diamond which shows any color when viewed under normal, north daylight or its equivalent. (File No. 643 7020, released June 18, 1966.