just saw this. basically says Federal Court can hold advertisers liable for deceptive affiliates. wondering if this means stricter rules and policing from affnetworks. prob no need to worry if you ain't using fake news sites.
Online advertiser denied immunity under Section 230 of the CDA for permitting use of fake news sites by affiliate marketers - Lexology
Online advertiser denied immunity under Section 230 of the CDA for permitting use of fake news sites by affiliate marketers - Lexology
Online advertiser denied immunity under Section 230 of the CDA for permitting use of fake news sites by affiliate marketers
March 19 2015
A federal court recently agreed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that an advertiser should be held accountable for the deceptive acts and practices of its affiliate marketers, and ordered that the advertiser disgorge the entire $11.9 million in payments it received. The court held that the advertiser violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) as a matter of law because its affiliate marketers used “fake news sites” to promote products sold online. According to the court, “no reasonable jury could deny” that the advertiser “both participated in, and had the authority to control, the affiliate marketers conduct in so far as it related to the fake news sites.” The court also held that the advertiser was not entitled to immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).Federal Trade Commission v. LeanSpa, LLC, No. 3:11-CV-1715 (D. Conn. Mar. 5, 2015).
The advertiser, LeadClick Media, Inc. (LeadClick), “fiercely disputed” that it had the authority to control the affiliate marketers, and that it was responsible for creating or developing the deceptive content provided on the fake news sites. Even though LeadClick did not create the fake news sites, the court denied LeadClick Section 230 immunity because LeadClick knew that its affiliate marketers used fake news pages, had communications with these affiliate marketers regarding what products to advertise, screened advertisements according to merchants’ preferences, and provided affiliate marketers with a way to direct consumers from genuine news sites to fake news sites.