BBB National Programs Press Releases

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  • 11/09/2021 - BBB National Programs National Advertising Division Launches Expedited Fast-Track SWIFT Lane Designed to Address Misleading Advertising Disclosures

    New York, NY – November 9, 2021 – Mindful of recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actions, BBB National Programs today announced a new, streamlined lane of the expedited Fast-Track SWIFT challenge submission process, one designed specifically to address the prominence and sufficiency of disclosures in national advertising.

  • 9/21/2021 - Media Advisory: FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to Keynote National Advertising Division “Future of Ad Law” 2021 Annual Conference

    New York, NY – September 21, 2021 – In its 50th anniversary year, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs will host the NAD 2021 Annual Conference virtually next week, running Wednesday, September 29 through Friday, October 1. Members of the media are invited to cover NAD 2021 with complimentary registration by emailing press@bbbnp.org.

  • 7/29/2021 - Children’s Advertising Review Unit Issues Revised Guidelines for Responsible Advertising to Children

    McLean, VA – July 29, 2021 – BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) today announced the issuance of the revised CARU Advertising Guidelines, widely recognized industry standards to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience. CARU monitors child-directed media to ensure compliance with these guidelines, seeking voluntary cooperation of companies and, where necessary, referral for enforcement action to an appropriate federal regulatory body. The revised Guidelines go into effect on January 1, 2022. At that time, CARU will begin actively investigating cases of non-compliance. 

  • 6/23/2021 - BBB National Programs Agrees with Rudd Center Study Recommendation to Increase Restaurant Participation in Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative

    McLean, VA, June 23, 2021 – Maureen Enright, Vice President, Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, BBB National Programs today issued the following statement: BBB National Programs agrees with the Rudd Center’s recommendation that more restaurant companies should join our Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). .For nearly 15 years, CFBAI has focused on ensuring that foods in ads directed to children meet strict nutrition criteria. We invite other restaurant companies to join McDonald’s and Burger King in their commitment to continued improvement in the children’s food advertising landscape using CFBAI’s strict nutrition criteria to determine the foods that can be advertised to children.

  • 6/15/2021 - U.S.-Based BBB National Programs Announced as Winner for “Best Sectoral Initiative” by International Council of Advertising Self-Regulation

    On 15 June 2021, the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) announced the winners of its second edition of the ICAS Global Awards. The objective of the ICAS Awards is to reward initiatives that contribute to responsible marketing practices and a more effective and impactful self-regulatory system. BBB National Programs' Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, an initiative developed to promote truth and transparency in the direct selling industry including an effective proactive monitoring of the marketplace won the Best Sectoral Initiative award.

  • 6/04/2021 - BBB National Programs’ Statement on Today’s European Commission Adoption of Standard Contractual Clauses for Cross-Border Data Transfer

    McLean, VA, June 4, 2021 – Dona Fraser, Senior Vice President, Privacy Initiatives, BBB National Programs today issued the following statement: BBB National Programs notes with interest the adoption of the updated Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) by the European Commission (EC). Through our Global Privacy Division, we work with organizations of all types and sizes to achieve compliance across a range of privacy frameworks. In this capacity, we advocate for a variety of scalable transfer mechanisms that converge around a set of baseline best practices. While today’s EC announcement partially advances those aims through the approval of updated SCCs, along with the provision of a toolbox for compliance with the Schrems II decision, there remains an urgent need to enhance the Privacy Shield Framework as a core mechanism for transatlantic transfers of personal data.

  • 4/12/2021 - BBB National Programs Adds FTC Veteran Mamie Kresses as Vice President, Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU)

    McLean, VA – April 12, 2021 – BBB National Programs, the independent non-profit organization that oversees more than a dozen industry self-regulation and dispute resolution programs, today announced the hire of FTC veteran Mamie Kresses as Vice President, Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). Kresses moves from the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices to lead BBB National Programs’ CARU, the first FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor in the U.S. and the independent industry self-regulation program responsible for protecting children from deceptive and inappropriate advertising and irresponsible online data collection practices. 

  • 1/26/2021 - BBB National Programs Receives APEC Approval as First U.S. Non-Profit Accountability Agent and Launches Global Privacy Division

    McLean, VA – January 26, 2021 – Building upon its longstanding privacy protection work in Europe, BBB National Programs today announced its approval by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as the first U.S.-based non-profit Accountability Agent in the APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) and Privacy Recognition for Processors (PRP) systems. As an Accountability Agent in the APEC privacy certification systems, BBB National Programs will enable companies of all sizes doing business in the 21 APEC economies to demonstrate compliance with internationally recognized data privacy standards.  

  • 1/05/2021 - BBB National Programs Announces 85 Distinguished Members of 2021 National Advertising Review Board Panel

    McLean, VA – January 5, 2021 – BBB National Programs today announced the 2021 Panel Pool Members for its National Advertising Review Board, the appellate body for the U.S. advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. The National Advertising Review Board panel pool members, selected for their stature and experience in their fields, provide independent peer review to ensure truthfulness and accuracy in national advertising and help promote voluntary compliance of its decisions.

  • 12/14/2020 - BBB National Programs Board of Directors Elects Three New Members

    McLean, VA – December 14, 2020 – The Board of Directors of BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that operates more than a dozen self-regulation programs, today announced that it has elected three new members for the 2020-2023 term and re-elected the Board Chair and Board Vice Chair.