No one, really, unless it’s horrifically bad
The practical answer to this specific question is: no one. There’s not really an agency in charge, or actively policing online advertising.
Yes, in the United States you might think of your state’s Attorney General, but practically speaking, they’re rarely going to step in and help unless it’s something really, really serious and widespread.
Besides, most of these ads have some very slippery wording that actually keeps them out of trouble.
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Misleading advertising
No official agency really 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: you need to 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 can download paying nothing at all.
The advertising is counting on a misunderstanding. You might think “free download” implies that the program that you just downloaded is itself free; but that’s not what they said. “Free download” taken literally means “the act of downloading that file was free”. What happens next may or may not be. You could download it to your computer paying nothing. 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 … all for free. But if you read the wording of what they offer carefully, they did not actually offer to fix anything for free.
Sadly, weasel words work
I would love for these advertisements to be clearer.
The examples above are at least “honest”, albeit with high mis-direction. And you know why the mis-direction is there? Because it works.
If the ads were as clear as we might 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 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 accompanying 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 mistakenly 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 under appreciated facts of online advertising is that the websites you visit are rarely in control of the advertisements that appear. The website owner signs up with an advertising network, and then trusts that network to display ads appropriate to that websites’s audience.
Pragmatically there’s just no way a website owner could vet all the thousands of different advertisers that might get displayed, particularly given that the ads will differ dramatically from one visitor to the next, and 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 really is no practical recourse for individuals, other than being skeptical and vigilant.
Yes, you can complain to various agencies (like I said, your state’s Attorney General or whatever might apply in your country) 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 their 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.
It’s more complex than just misleading ads (overall 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 re-appear).
(Of course patrons of Ask Leo! see no ads anyway, when 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, always. 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, it could be a relative, someone who is perhaps 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 then to learn what’s really 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.
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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 t 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 o 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.