No one, really, unless it’s horrifically bad.
The practical answer to this specific question is: no one. There’s not an agency in charge of or actively policing online advertising.
In the United States, there are state Attorneys General, but practically speaking, they’re rarely going to step in and help unless it’s something really serious and widespread.
Besides, most of these ads have some very slippery wording that keeps them out of trouble.
Misleading advertising
No official agency watches online ads closely unless they’re really bad. Ads can trick you with sneaky wording like free download that doesn’t mean what you think. Unfortunately, it comes back to you. Be careful, question everything, and never trust something just because it says it’s free.
Weasel words
What I call “weasel words” are words that can be interpreted to mean more than one thing or nothing at all.
The phrase free download is an example. All free download really might mean is that the download is free; you pay nothing at all to download the file.
The advertising is counting on a misunderstanding. You might think free download implies that the program you just downloaded is itself free — but that’s not what they said. It meant that the act of downloading that file was free. What happens next may or may not be free. You could download it to your computer without paying anything. Using or running it? That’s another matter.
Other examples are things like FREE System Scan or FREE system cleanup analysis (often with the same emphasis on the word free). Again, you can download the program for free. You can even run the program for free, and it will scan and analyze your computer for free. But if you read the offer carefully, it does not offer to fix anything for free.
Help make it permanent by becoming a Patron.
Sadly, weasel words work
I would love for these advertisements to be clearer.
The examples above are at least honest, albeit with misdirection. And you know why the misdirection is there? Because it works.
If the ads were as clear as we want, then not as many would click, and not as many people would buy.
And enough people do get duped into paying at the end that it makes it worthwhile for these companies to continue to do what they do.
Download
One scam that really bugs me is the misleading download button.
These are ads (again, to be clear, these are paid advertisements) that look like download buttons. The wording is typically vague enough that it feels like it could be a legitimate download for something related to the site the advertisement appears on.
Yet when you click on them, either you get taken to some website trying to sell you something, or you download something you don’t want that then installs and is malicious, costly, or both.
Shoot the messenger
One of the underappreciated facts of online advertising is that the websites you visit are rarely in control of the advertisements that appear there. The website owner signs up with an advertising network and trusts it to display ads appropriate to that website’s audience.
Pragmatically, there’s just no way a website owner could vet all the thousands of different advertisers that might be displayed, particularly given that the ads differ dramatically from one visitor to the next and are based on where the visitor is located.
Some advertising networks are better at filtering out the noise than others. But that noise works: the network and the website make more money when buckets of misleading ads are displayed.
Recourse?
Unfortunately, there is no practical recourse for individuals to respond to these ads other than being skeptical and vigilant.
You can complain to various agencies (like I said, your state’s Attorney General might apply in the US), but my belief is that unless it’s a horrific lie, they’ll slip through on the technicality that they were, in fact, telling the truth: you just misunderstood. Even when it is a horrific lie, most of the watchdog agencies are so overwhelmed that it would have to affect a lot of people over a long period of time to get their attention.
You can complain to the website owner. They may or may not have the resources to act, which usually involves complaining to the advertising network they use. That network then may or may not care to take action.
What I’m doing
I’m dropping my current advertising network at the end of my contract.
My reasons for doing so are more complex than just misleading ads (website advertising is in a state of disarray right now), but it’s time to flip the switch.
I’ll be switching to one or more of:
- Promoting my own products.
- Direct ad sales with or for products I know and trust.
- A more limited relationship with a different ad network (though misleading ads can always reappear).
(Of course, patrons of Ask Leo! see no ads anyway, when they are signed in.)
By walking away from my advertising network, I’m walking away from a chunk of advertising revenue that helps keep Ask Leo! viable.
And that’s the conundrum every website owner faces.
Do this
Who polices misleading advertising?
You do.
That means, and I can’t emphasize this enough, you must be skeptical. As you’ve said, there is no such thing as a free lunch, so don’t expect one. Another saying that’s great to remember: if it’s too good to be true, then it’s probably not true.
Instead, turn to resources that you trust. It could be a friend or a relative — someone who is a tad more computer-savvy and experienced with the types of issues that you’re facing. Perhaps you have a favorite website. Develop a relationship built on trust. Use that relationship to learn what’s possible, what you can do yourself, and when additional tools might be called for; and when those tools are called for, exactly which tools might be trustworthy and appropriate.
But above all, always be skeptical.
Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.
And do be careful yourself. I know of several very legitimate businesses who regularly get accused of being spammers or using misleading advertising simply because people don’t read. It’s also our responsibility as consumers to take the time to be reasonable.
Unfortunately, many companies which used to be reputable intentionally use misleading language. Often, because the company has a good reputation earned many years ago people trust them and they get burned. I agree the buyer has to beware, but it’s hard to find a good alternative. My prime examples would be cable providers, cell phone companies and ISPs. I find myself carefully researching before signing any service agreement and I stick to no contract prepaid wherever possible.
I’ll never cease to be amazed by the sheer number of problems that people cause themselves by wanting all their software for free. I’ve dealt with countless people using a thousand dollars worth of computer equipment and won’t pay for *any* software. So many problems could be avoided by simply ponying up 30 bucks for quality software and not rolling the dice on that “free” offering.
There’s much great free software. I use GIMP instead of Photoshop, Inkscape to replace Adobe Illustrator and more. Libre Office does more than most people need as a replacement for MS Office. Software can end up costing much more than hardware, so choose what works best for you.
One problem with that “Free Download” button is that many legitimately free software providers also have a “free Download” button, while others are for trial versions or programs that don’t work without paying for activation. So you shouldn’t simply reject sites that say “Free Download” without some investigation.
One sure red flag is an ad that says “Free scan”. I can almost guarantee they’ll scan, list a huge number of errors or malware, and ask you to pay to resolve the errors.
I use a popular free app which has a paid-for upgrade. When it offers an update, I get sent to a page that has 2 buttons: “Yes, I want to upgrade” and “No Thanks. To get the free update, I have to press the “No Thanks” button,
It took 11 years for a friend to send this column to me! Apparently I’ve missed everything that would have kept me out of trouble. Many years ago I published some books with Amazon. I returned to try again, not realizing that KDP was involved, and clicked on Amazon Prime Publishing (I think) . Quick as a snake attack something called Amazon Publishing Prime had their hooks in me for about $500 before I was aware of the difference (I may have reversed the Prime & Publishing.. Apologies if so. Now I see this happening at nearly every site I log into. I’m 80. We don’t deserve this. Life has been a battle. Why allow people like that to scam us without serious penalty?
For everyone’s information, online Ads are regulated in the UK by Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). https://www.asa.org.uk/regulate-online-ads.html