Internet consumer awareness group Commercial Alert has filed a
complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about allegedly
deceptive internet advertising on search engines. The complaint
criticises the advertising activities of eight high-profile search
engines, including AltaVista Co., AOL Time Warner Inc. and
Microsoft Corp.
Commercial Alert sets out its arguments in a letter to the FTC,
which concentrated on the misleading use of poorly identified
advertisements that are not clearly distinguishable from the
results of searches. The group is concerned that consumers are not
adequately informed of the possibility that an advertiser may have
paid for a high ranking position in a search.
The group maintains that such marketing ploys may deceive
consumers, who commonly expect high rankings to relate to the
relevancy of material to their search query. In addition, the
letter claims that:
"This deception is especially important
because so many Americans use the internet and search engines each
day to find facts and information... For many of these internet
users, search engines have become both filter and gateway to
learning and knowledge."
According to reports by the Associated Press, the allegations
have been denied by both LookSmart and AltaVista search engines,
while MSN’s responded by emphasising its commitment to providing
“compelling search results that people want”.
