FTC Tells Search Sites To Clearly Mark Ads

from the cracking-down dept

The FTC has apparently sent letters to a number of search engines (though, apparently, they're having trouble reaching Direct Hit, 'cause they don't exist any more) telling them to more clearly mark which search results are ads and which are actual search results. The list includes LookSmart who's entire search results are ads but, unlike Overture, Looksmart doesn't make that clear to users. Noticeably absent from the list are both Overture and Google who seem to do a pretty good job either separating or clearly marking what's an advertised listing.
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