CPRS Ethics & Legal Considerations in Public Relations 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A PR agency creates a social media account posing as an ordinary consumer to post positive reviews of their client's product. This tactic violates which FTC guideline?
- Endorsement disclosure requirements (Correct answer)
- Anti-spam regulations
- Truth-in-advertising standards for comparative claims
- Digital advertising placement rules
Correct answer: Endorsement disclosure requirements
FTC endorsement guidelines require disclosure of any material connection between an endorser and a brand, including when employees or paid agents pose as ordinary consumers.
Question 2: Which ethical principle requires PR practitioners to be honest even when the truth may be damaging to their client?
- The principle of loyalty
- The principle of honesty (Correct answer)
- The principle of expertise
- The principle of independence
Correct answer: The principle of honesty
The PRSA Code's honesty principle obligates practitioners to be truthful in all communications, even when accurate information may reflect negatively on the client.
Question 3: A nonprofit PR campaign uses an image of a person without obtaining a model release. The organization faces greatest legal exposure under:
- Copyright infringement law
- Right of publicity and appropriation of likeness (Correct answer)
- Trademark law
- Trade secret law
Correct answer: Right of publicity and appropriation of likeness
Using someone's image for commercial or promotional purposes without consent can constitute appropriation of likeness, exposing the organization to liability even if the image was taken in a public place.
Question 4: During a product crisis, a company's legal counsel advises 'say nothing' to avoid liability. The PR practitioner's ethical obligation is to:
- Follow legal counsel's advice unconditionally
- Recommend a transparent communication strategy while explaining legal risk tradeoffs to management (Correct answer)
- Issue a public statement contradicting legal's guidance
- Resign immediately from the crisis response
Correct answer: Recommend a transparent communication strategy while explaining legal risk tradeoffs to management
PR practitioners must advocate for transparent communication while helping management weigh both legal risks and reputational risks, providing counsel rather than simply overriding or deferring to legal.
Question 5: A competitor's trade secret is accidentally emailed to a PR firm. The ethical and legal obligation of the firm is to:
- Review the material to benefit their client competitively
- Immediately notify the sender, delete the material, and not use the information (Correct answer)
- Report the incident to the FTC
- Store the material in case it becomes relevant later
Correct answer: Immediately notify the sender, delete the material, and not use the information
Knowingly retaining or using accidentally received trade secrets can constitute misappropriation; the ethical response is immediate disclosure to the sender and deletion.
Question 6: The concept of 'prior restraint' in PR and media law refers to:
- A court order preventing publication of information before it is released (Correct answer)
- Editorial guidelines limiting sensitive content
- A practitioner's self-imposed fact-checking process
- A client's contractual right to approve press releases
Correct answer: A court order preventing publication of information before it is released
Prior restraint is a government or court-imposed prohibition on publishing information before publication, which faces the highest level of First Amendment scrutiny.
Question 7: A PR firm sends unsolicited bulk commercial emails to journalists without an unsubscribe option. This violates:
- Section 512 of the DMCA
- The CAN-SPAM Act (Correct answer)
- The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- The Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5
Correct answer: The CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act requires all commercial emails to include a clear opt-out mechanism, a valid physical address, and honest subject lines, regardless of the recipient's profession.
CPRS Ethics & Legal Considerations in Public Relations 4
A PR agency creates a social media account posing as an ordinary consumer to post positive reviews of their client's product.
This tactic violates which FTC guideline?