A million-dollar blunder: How the FTC’s settlement with software provider accessiBe can help your business avoid similar missteps

It’s advertising law 101: before you claim your product can perform a certain task, you need evidence it will work as promised. If your product doesn’t live up to the hype, you’ll have to deal with the consequences—which could include a potential FTC lawsuit. That’s the lesson from a recently announced settlement between the FTC and accessiBe, a company that advertised its online plug-in as a fully automated tool to make any website compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a comprehensive set of technical criteria used to assess website accessibility for people with disabilities. According to the FTC, the plug-in didn’t work as promised. And the FTC says accessiBe doubled down on its problems by disguising paid reviews and articles the company drafted or edited as impartial third-party reviews.

To resolve the allegations of the complaint, accessiBe agreed to tell the truth in its ads, disclose connections between endorsers and the company’s products that might affect the weight consumers give the endorsement, and pay the FTC $1 million to provide refunds to consumers.

Consider these tips to avoid similar issues:

Tell the truth. The FTC says accessiBe’s advertisements overstated how well its plug-in performed. Tell the truth in your ads. It’s not just the law; it’s also good business. Overstating or exaggerating how well a product or service performs may lead to customer dissatisfaction, financial losses, or reputational harm.

When it comes to reviews and testimonials, be clear and honest. Reviews and testimonials can be a great way for potential customers to learn how your product or service worked for others. But people want to know if there’s a connection between a reviewer or testimonialist and your company, because that could affect how much weight the consumer gives to the review. If a review is given by your own employee, a paid endorser, or another person with ties to your company, make that clear to your customers. Failure to do so could run afoul of the FTC’s Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, and the FTC may seek civil penalties or other remedies for violations.