FDA and Internet Advertising: The Medium is the Message
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Arnold I. Friede and Gregory Conko

You can find a pdf of this document in its entirety here.

Anrold I. Friede and Gregory Conko take a look into the medical industries use of Internet advertising methods like Twitter and other social networking applications and services.  This method, they argue, has been beneficial to the industry.  However, the Food and Drug Administration is conducting an investigation into the use of these advertising methods.  Friede and Conko point out that “if the FDA’s evolving policy fails to take adequate account of the Internet’s unique ability to present information in novel formats, it could have significant and adverse implications for consumers, Web service providers, and the medical products industry.”

• The Internet allows for risk disclosure one click away, with the ability to promote basic information in banner ads or the like, and comprehensive details via a link.
• The FDA has not approached this subject in over 10 years.  They have allowed the medical community to essentially create their own guidelines.  And their current actions tend to enforce a notion that they do not fully understand the use of dynamic information linking on the Internet.
• The FDA has displayed double standards by allowing TV ads to use website addresses as a means to offer full disclosure of medical products, but does not allow sponsored links to show brief information and send those interested to a similar link as TV ads with full information.
• The FTC has created an approach that allows for the “net impression” that a “reasonable man” would infer from an add.  The FDA does not use this approach.
• The unintended consequence of limiting the way product information can be displayed in dynamic ads could result in consumers having less information.

You can find a pdf of this document in its entirety here.