Advertising law and the rules of your profession

Why:The description of your services on a site is most likely advertising, and the law applies to it. Afterwards you know what counts as advertising, what the FTC Act, the UK’s CAP Code and the EU’s unfair commercial practices rules ask of a claim, which phrases break them most often, how a profession’s own rules (a lawyer’s, for example) limit how you talk about yourself, and you check your site’s texts against a list. This is a guide as of 30 October 2026, not legal advice.

30 minutes

Read by speech synthesis (Qwen3-TTS); the voice is not a person’s.

Advertising law bans claims that are misleading, unsubstantiated or hide their conditions. A professional’s own rules, such as a lawyer’s, are often stricter.

Is this advertising?

The earlier lessons in the parts on writing and marketing have been leading to a question: is the description of a service on a site plain information, or advertising? There’s no one definition. In the United States, section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 45) bans “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,” which reaches any claim you make to attract customers. In the United Kingdom, the CAP Code applies to “marketing communications,” which include claims on a marketer’s own website and social media. In the European Union, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC) covers any practice directly connected with promoting a product to consumers. A page with services and prices fits all three. The border with ordinary information can be thin and may be argued, so it’s safer to live as if the page were advertising. This is the same position as in the lesson on legal and expert texts.

A caveat, as in the earlier lessons: this lesson is a guide, dated 30 October 2026. It’s general information, not legal advice, and the law changes. Where you need a decision, ask a lawyer, the regulator (the FTC in the US, the ASA in the UK) or your professional body.

What a claim must be

The rules in the three places differ in wording, but ask nearly the same things.

Truthful, not misleading. In the US an advertisement is deceptive if it contains a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer, and the misleading element is material (the FTC’s 1983 Policy Statement on Deception). It judges the net impression, not each word alone. The CAP Code (rule 3.1) says marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. The EU directive bans misleading actions and omissions (Articles 6 and 7).
Substantiated before you say it. The FTC expects an advertiser to have a reasonable basis for an objective claim before making it. CAP Code rule 3.7 says marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective. “Thousands of clients trust us” needs a number you can document.
Terms stated beside the promise. An asterisk that leads to fine print at the bottom is the textbook failure. FTC guidance says a disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, near the claim. CAP Code rule 3.9 says marketing communications must not mislead by omitting significant limitations and qualifications.
Fair comparisons. A comparison with a competitor is lawful when it’s truthful and can be backed up. Under the CAP Code, comparisons should objectively compare relevant, verifiable and representative features (rule 3.34), and must not mislead about the competitor (rule 3.32).
Prices and “free.” The FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR Part 233) concern “was” prices, which must be genuine. Its guide on the word “free” (16 CFR Part 251) concerns conditions on free offers. In the EU, an announcement of a price reduction must show the previous price as the lowest price applied in the 30 days before, and a false claim that an offer is available for a very limited time is on the always-banned list (Annex I to the directive).
Real endorsements and reviews. An endorsement must be honest and a material connection disclosed (16 CFR Part 255). Since October 2024 the FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) bans fake reviews, buying reviews, and review suppression. The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the EU directive ban fake reviews as well. The earlier lessons on paid traffic and ad labeling and local search have more on this.
Puffery is different from a claim. In the US, vague, subjective boasting that no reasonable person takes as a fact (“the best coffee in the world”) is called puffery, and isn’t treated as deceptive. But “the best lawyer in town” on a lawyer’s site, or “number one” with a number, reads as a fact claim and needs a basis, and in a regulated profession the profession’s rules usually bar it.

Open the diagram and check the six phrases that most often appear on experts’ sites: for each, say what is wrong with it and choose an honest replacement.

A magnifier for phrases from the site

For each phrase, choose what is wrong with it and the honest replacement. The numbers in the replacements are examples: you write only what your documents support. A teaching reading as of 30 October 2026, not legal advice.

Taken apart correctly: 0 of 7.

Text alternative: seven phrases from an expert’s site and honest replacements: “the best specialist” becomes documented facts about experience and the number of jobs; “we guarantee a result” becomes an explanation of the chances; a condition hidden under an asterisk becomes a condition beside the promise; a permanent discount becomes a price with dates; “thousands of clients” becomes a number you can check; “cheaper than competitors” becomes your own price and what it includes; a lawyer’s review of a won case becomes a description of how work proceeds.

Check yourself: what do you replace “We guarantee a result” with?

A description of the process: what you do, what the outcome depends on, and what chances a person has after you have reviewed their documents. You must not promise a result that doesn’t depend on you.

The rules of your profession

Advertising law is common to everyone. On top of it, some professions have rules of their own, often stricter. The lesson on an expert’s ethics covers them; here they are in brief.

Lawyers. In the US each state’s highest court sets rules of professional conduct, mostly modeled on the ABA Model Rules. Rule 7.1 bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer’s services, and its comments say that a truthful statement can mislead if it creates an unjustified expectation. States add their own rules on testimonials, past results, disclaimers and specialization. In England and Wales the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board set theirs. A promised outcome or a boast of wins is usually forbidden or must be heavily qualified.
Expert witnesses. An expert is independent and answers to the court for their opinion: promising a conclusion can’t be reconciled with that, and many codes bar fees contingent on the outcome.
Surveyors, engineers, accountants, doctors, notaries and others. Each has a licensing board or association with rules on advertising and misrepresenting qualifications.

The practical conclusion is the same: find the rules of your profession and your body and check the site’s texts against them. If you can’t find them, ask the body directly. Client reviews and stories of cases won are allowed for some professions and banned for others: your bar or board decides, not this textbook.

Who checks, and what is at risk

In the United States the FTC can order an advertiser to stop, bring a federal court action, and seek refunds for consumers. For violations of a trade regulation rule, such as the reviews rule, it can seek civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation (the figure adjusted for inflation in 2025; check the current amount). State attorneys general enforce state laws against unfair and deceptive practices, and a competitor can sue for false advertising under the Lanham Act. In the United Kingdom the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules on complaints and can require an ad to be withdrawn or changed, publish its rulings and refer persistent offenders to enforcers; since 6 April 2025 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can itself fine businesses for breaches of consumer law by up to 10 percent of global turnover under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. In the EU national authorities apply the directive, with fines set by each member state. And a lawyer or another licensed professional faces discipline from the bar or board too.

Russia, for comparison. Russia’s Federal Law No. 38-FZ “On Advertising” also defines advertising broadly (information addressed to an indefinite circle of persons and meant to draw attention to an object) and in Article 5 requires it to be fair and truthful, banning unfair comparisons, false statements, omitted material conditions and hidden advertising. The Federal Antimonopoly Service enforces it, and paid ads on the internet there must be marked. These details come from the Russian edition and change, so a Russian audience should read the current law.

How to check your own texts

Five questions for every statement on the site. The ideas themselves (verifiability, modesty, accuracy) you met in the lesson on legal and expert texts; here they are gathered into one list.

Is it true? Can you show it with a document, a number, a register?
Can you back it up? Do you have a paper you can show if asked?
Are the terms stated? The price “from” what, how long a promotion lasts, what is included. Beside the promise, not in small print.
Is the comparison fair? With whom, by what measure, can it be verified? If not, take the comparison out and tell people about yourself.
Does the profession allow it? Reviews, case results, clients, outcomes.

The fifth question is usually the most important, and you can’t get its answer from a textbook.

Practice

You’re in the era of 2025: a site can be built in an evening, and the texts on it are written quickly too, and seldom checked. You get a paragraph with six risky phrases. Take each apart in the table: what is wrong with it, what to replace it with, what backs it up. Then rewrite the paragraph, leaving only what you can show.

The check reads text: it will find the words “best,” “guarantee,” “today only,” “thousands” and the asterisk, and it requires a number or a date and proofs from the brief. It doesn’t know what your profession permits: that is your job, and in the note you write which rules you checked. Before publishing, show the text to a lawyer and to your professional body.

What used to be different

In the 1990s and 2000s “the best in town” and “guaranteed results” on leaflets were the norm, and checks were rare. Now a site has a history, a phrase has a screenshot, and complaints are filed by competitors and clients alike. Automatic checks of advertising and rules on disclosure have appeared. The method stays simple and old: say what you can show, and state the terms at once.

Preparing your page…

Test

Question 1 of 6

Cards

These cards go into your review once you finish the lesson.

What counts as advertising in the law?

Answer
There is no single definition. Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45) bans deceptive or unfair practices in commerce, the UK CAP Code covers marketing communications including a marketer’s own website, and the EU’s unfair commercial practices rules cover practices tied to promoting a product. Treat the description of your services on a site as advertising.
What do the FTC Act and the CAP Code require of a claim?

Answer
It must be truthful and not misleading, and objective claims need evidence in hand beforehand (the FTC’s substantiation doctrine; CAP Code rules 3.1 and 3.7). Material conditions are stated clearly beside the claim (CAP Code 3.9; FTC “clear and conspicuous” guidance). Comparisons must be fair and verifiable. Endorsements and reviews must be real and disclosed.
What do you replace “best” and “guaranteed” with?

Answer
Facts with proof (years in practice, documents, the number of jobs) and a description of the process: what you do and what the outcome depends on. State a promotion’s terms beside the promise.
Why is it not enough to know the advertising law?

Answer
A profession can have rules of its own, often stricter: for a lawyer, state bar rules modeled on ABA Model Rule 7.1, for others a licensing board or an association. They cover testimonials, case results, comparisons and confidentiality.
Who polices advertising, and what is the risk?

Answer
In the US the FTC (orders, injunctions, refunds, and civil penalties for rule violations of up to $53,088 each) and state attorneys general; competitors can sue under the Lanham Act. In the UK the ASA (rulings, withdrawal of the ad) and the CMA, with fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover under the DMCC Act 2024. A profession adds discipline.

Sources

15 U.S.C. § 45: Unfair methods of competition unlawful (Cornell LII) public domain, in English
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 (Wikipedia) CC BY-SA, in English
16 CFR Part 465: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (Cornell LII) public domain, in English
16 CFR Part 233: Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (Cornell LII) public domain, in English
The CAP Code, section 3: Misleading advertising (ASA) link only, in English
Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (European Commission) link only, in English
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 7.1 (Wikipedia) CC BY-SA, in English
Federal Law “On Advertising” No. 38-FZ (ConsultantPlus, in Russian, for comparison) link only, in Russian

You now know: advertising rules and professional ethics.