Why truth in advertising matters
James B. Astrachan, BridgeTower Media Newswires//January 31, 2025//
BALTIMORE, MD — Evolve Technologies, a maker of weapon detectors, recently settled charges with the Federal Trade Commission, that it had made false advertising claims about the effectiveness of its products. Evolve’s marketing material falsely claimed that its AI-powered weapons screening systems, used at 1,000 schools, and at casinos, stadiums and other public venues, will detect weapons and ignore harmless personal items.
The settlement requires Evolve to cease its false marketing claims and to allow all of its school customers to void their contracts without penalty. The stakes for false advertising can be high. In 2021 Guardant was awarded $292.5 million in its false advertising suit against Natera; in 2022 Monster Energy was awarded $293 million against Bang Energy.
An action by the FTC, such as its case against Evolve, is just one of the actions that can be brought against a false advertiser. Other causes of action include violations of state consumer protection laws, state statutes that protect businesses, common law actions for deceptive trade practices, product defamation, actions for false advertising under the Lanham Act and class-action suits.
False advertising generally involves either a false claim of origin or a false claim regarding a product’s qualities, either the advertiser’s product or a competitor’s. Courts will impose strict...
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