United States - Home Security Company ADT Settles FTC Charges that Endorsements Deceived Consumers

As part of its crackdown on deceptive endorsements,the FTC settled charges it brought against ADT LLC, a home security company, alleging that the company misrepresented endorsements from experts in child safety, home security and technology as independent reviews when, in fact, the endorsers were paid more than $300,000 by ADT and received free products and services.  The FTC’s complaint alleged that ADT paid spokespersons to demonstrate and review its product, the ADT Pulse, on national television and radio news programs and talk shows, and in blogs and other online material, without disclosing their connections to the company.The settlement prohibits ADT from misrepresenting paid endorsements as independent reviews in the future.