FTC Released a Guide for .com Disclosures: Proximity and Placement (March 2013)

Guide for .com Disclosures: Proximity and Placement

A disclosure is more effective if it is placed near the claim it qualifies or other relevant information. Proximity increases the likelihood that consumers will see the disclosure and relate it to the relevant claim or product. For print ads, an advertiser might measure proximity in terms of whether the disclosure is placed adjacent to the claim, or whether it is separated from the claim by text or graphics. The same approach can be used for online ads. Websites, and mobile applications, however, are interactive and have a certain depth — with multiple pages or screens linked together and pop-up screens, for example — that may affect how proximity is evaluated. Mobile devices also present additional issues because a disclosure that would appear on the same screen of a standard desktop computer might, instead, require significant vertical and horizontal scrolling on a mobile screen. In evaluating placement, advertisers should also take into consideration empirical research about where consumers do and do not look on a screen.

a. Evaluating Proximity

A disclosure is more likely to be effective if consumers view the disclosure and the claim that raises the need for disclosure (often referred to as a “triggering claim”) together on the same screen. Example 1 Even if a disclosure is not tied to a particular word or phrase, it is more likely that consumers will notice it if it is placed next to the information, product, or service to which it relates.

Often, disclosures consist of a word or phrase that may be easily incorporated into the text, along with the claim. Doing so increases the likelihood that consumers will see the disclosure and relate it to the relevant claim.

In some circumstances, it may be difficult to ensure that a disclosure appears on the “same screen” as a claim or product information. Some disclosures are long and thus difficult to place next to the claims they qualify. In addition, computers, tablets, smartphones, and other connected devices have varying screen sizes that display ads and websites differently. In these situations, an advertiser might place a disclosure where consumers might have to scroll to reach it. Requiring consumers to scroll in order to view a disclosure may be problematic, however, because consumers who don’t scroll enough (and in the right direction) may miss important qualifying information and be misled.

When advertisers are putting disclosures in a place where consumers might have to scroll in order to view them, they should use text or visual cues to encourage consumers to scroll and avoid formats that discourage scrolling.

Text prompts can indicate that more information is available. An explicit instruction like “see below for important information on restocking fees” will alert consumers to scroll and look for the information. The text prompt should be tied to the disclosure to which it refers. General or vague statements, such as “details below,” provide no indication about the subject matter or importance of the information that consumers will find and are not adequate cues.

The visual design of the page also could help alert consumers to the availability of more information. For example, text that clearly continues below the screen, whether spread over an entire page or in a column, would indicate that the reader needs to scroll for additional information. Advertisers should consider how the page is displayed when viewed on different devices.

Scroll bars along the edges of a screen are not a sufficiently effective visual cue. Although the scroll bars may indicate to some consumers that they have not reached the bottom or sides of a page, many consumers may not look at the scroll bar and some consumers access the Internet with devices that don’t display a scroll bar.

The design of some pages might indicate that there is no more information following and, therefore, no need to continue scrolling. If the text ends before the bottom of the screen or readers see an expanse of blank space, they may stop scrolling and miss the disclosure. Example 2 They will also likely stop scrolling when they see the information and types of links that normally signify the bottom of a webpage, e.g., “contact us,” “terms and conditions,” “privacy policy,” and “copyright.” In addition, if there is a lot of unrelated information — either words or graphics — separating a claim and a disclosure, even a consumer who is prompted to scroll might miss the disclosure or not relate it to a distant claim they’ve already read.

If scrolling is necessary to view a disclosure, then, ideally, the disclosure should be unavoidable — consumers should not be able to proceed further with a transaction, e.g., click forward, without scrolling through the disclosure. Making a disclosure unavoidable increases the likelihood that consumers will see it.

Because of their small screens, smartphones (and some tablets) potentially require horizontal, as well as vertical, scrolling. Placing a disclosure in a different column of a webpage from the claim it modifies could make it unlikely that consumers who have to zoom in to read the claim on a small screen will scroll right or left to a different column and read the disclosure. Example 3 Optimizing a website for mobile devices will eliminate the need for consumers to scroll right or left, although it will not necessarily address the need for vertical scrolling.

 

For more information, see here:  https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/com-disclosures-how-make-effective-disclosures-digital

 

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