Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
US government consumer-protection agency (listed here as a regulator) whose rules on deceptive ads cover arbitrage.
Washington, DC, USA · founded 1914 · ftc.gov
What Federal Trade Commission (FTC) does
The Federal Trade Commission is the US government agency that enforces the law against unfair and deceptive business practices. It is a regulator, not a company or a charity.
Two pieces of its guidance bear directly on search arbitrage. Its 2015 guide on native advertising says an ad must not look like something other than an ad, and that disclosures such as "Ad" or "Advertisement" must be clear and placed where people will see them. And its guidance to search engines, updated in 2013, says paid search results must be clearly distinguished from ordinary results.
An arbitrage page that disguises sponsored listings as editorial links, or an ad that promises something the page does not deliver, falls within what the FTC Act prohibits.
How it makes money
Funded by the US government; it does not sell anything.
Where it meets invalid traffic
Its concern is deception of consumers rather than invalid clicks, but the two meet where misleading ads generate clicks that advertisers then pay for.
Products
- Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses
- Search engine guidance on paid results
- Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements