FTC weighs rule that would make shopping sites and search engines answer for imposter ads

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking the public whether online platforms should have to stop ads that impersonate real businesses and government agencies. In a consumer alert on November 2, 2026, it said such ads turn up in social media feeds, search results and shopping platforms, and gave people until November 30 to comment. The alert points to a notice the FTC published on October 1, the first formal step toward a possible rule. The notice contains no proposed rule text.

What the FTC is considering

The FTC's Impersonation Rule, finalized in March 2024, bans posing as a government agency or a business. It reaches the impersonators. The new notice asks about the platforms that sell them ad space and the tools to target and improve those ads, and whether to amend the rule, write a new one, or try alternatives such as consumer education and voluntary industry efforts.

The FTC has been close to this before. It first proposed such a provision in 2022, and its 2024 version would have covered anyone who provides goods or services knowing, or with reason to know, that they will be used for impersonation. It dropped the idea that December, after commenters raised concerns including that it was overbroad. It says any new version would be narrower, focused on how platforms optimize ads.

The notice lists measures the FTC may consider:

• Requiring platforms to evaluate ads before posting them.
• Barring ad-optimization services for those running impersonation ads.
• A program to detect suspected impersonation ads.
• A clear tool for consumers to report them.
• Investigating reports, removing confirmed scam ads and disciplining the advertiser.

These could be firm requirements or a safe harbor, giving a platform that follows them a defense against liability. The FTC also asks what level of knowledge should trigger liability, and what costs a rule would bring, including any passed on to consumers.

The notice says many platforms highlight voluntary measures against fraudulent ads, but it calls those measures inadequate. It also argues that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives platforms a defense for merely hosting others' content, does not take away its authority here. No platform's response is in these documents.

Who would be covered, and why shoppers should care

The notice defines platforms as public-facing websites or apps where third parties offer goods, services or opportunities through paid ads or other listings. Its examples are Google.com, Facebook.com, Amazon.com, the Apple App Store and LinkedIn.com. Being named as an example is not a finding against any of them.

The scheme closest to a shopping search is the sponsored result. The FTC describes scammers buying high-ranking sponsored placements on search engines, using a business's name or trademarks in the ad text or web address, and sending users to imposter sites. Its consumer-brand example is fake “giveaway” ads on Meta's platforms impersonating McCormick Spice. The notice does not single out electronics or appliance brands. It does cite Pew Research Center findings that 50% of respondents called scams a major problem on shopping platforms and 62% on social media.

The numbers the FTC cites

These count only what people reported. Allowing for underreporting, the FTC has put the cost of fraud in 2024 at up to $195.9 billion.

What the FTC and the FBI tell consumers

The FTC's alert asks people whether platforms should vet advertisers and ads before they run, offer a way to report suspect ads, and investigate and remove scams. Comments go through Regulations.gov or by mail, marked “16 CFR part 461--Impersonation Rule, Matter No. R207000”. The FTC takes fraud reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

For anyone shopping now, the notice cites an FBI public service announcement from December 2022 on brand impersonation in search ads. The FBI's advice is to check the URL before clicking an ad, to type a business's address into the browser instead of searching for it, and to use an ad-blocking extension when searching. Our guides to fake reviews and counterfeit safety marks cover other checks agencies describe.

What comes next

Comments close on November 30, the Monday after Thanksgiving. If the FTC goes ahead, a formal proposal would still have to follow. The current rule shows how long that can take: its advance notice came in December 2021, a proposal in October 2022, and the final rule in March 2024.