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United States

The United States federal government regulates advertising through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with truth-in-advertising laws and enables private litigation through a number of laws, most significantly the Lanham Act (trademark and unfair competition). Specifically, under Section 43(a), false advertising is an actionable civil claim. Therefore, a party successful in a suit may be awarded damages or may be entitled to injunctive relief. In order to bring a false advertising claim, it is imperative that the plaintiff demonstrate that the defendant actually made false/misleading statement to their own or another's product, that at least a tendency to deceive a large amount of the intended audience was present, and that there was a likelihood of injury to the plaintiff, among other reasons.