FTC Workshop Tomorrow - Putting Disclosures to the Test

The Federal Trade Commission’s workshop “Putting Disclosures to the Test” is taking place tomorrow, Sept. 15, 2016, in Washington. The workshop will feature research on the effectiveness of disclosures made to consumers in a variety of areas from advertising to privacy policies.

According to the workshop announcement, the FTC has a long commitment to understanding and testing the effectiveness of consumer disclosure, and is especially interested in learning about the costs and benefits of disclosure testing methods in the digital age.  A number of factors impact the effectiveness of disclosures, including whether they contain the most essential information and consumers notice them, direct their attention towards them, comprehend them, and are able to use that information in their decision making.  Some testing methods are more appropriate than others for evaluating these factors.

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez will provide opening remarks. The full event agenda and list of presenters is available online.

The event is free and open to media and the public, and more information on how to participate is below:

IN PERSON: The event will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the FTC’s Constitution Center offices at 400 7th Street, SW in Washington, DC.

WEBCAST: The conference will be available online via webcast. A link will be posted on the workshop website once the event begins.

TWITTER: The FTC will live-tweet the conference from @TechFTC using the hashtag #FTCDisclosures.

insideARM Perspective

While this workshop isn’t specifically about debt collection disclosures, this topic is clearly of great interest to the ARM industry, especially as the CFPB is contemplating new rules surrounding disclosures in a variety of areas.