SPC Industry Regulations & Compliance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under FTC rules, a speed reading course advertising "triple your reading speed in 7 days" must be able to provide what?
- Competent and reliable evidence substantiating the claim (Correct answer)
- A celebrity endorsement
- A money-back guarantee
- State licensure for instructors
Correct answer: Competent and reliable evidence substantiating the claim
The FTC requires advertisers to possess competent and reliable evidence substantiating objective performance claims before making them.
Question 2: A speed reading course uses copyrighted book excerpts as practice passages. Which doctrine might permit limited use without permission?
- Fair use (Correct answer)
- Public domain transfer
- Implied license
- Work-for-hire
Correct answer: Fair use
Fair use under U.S. copyright law may allow limited educational use of copyrighted excerpts depending on purpose, amount, and market effect.
Question 3: Which law governs the privacy of education records for a speed reading program operated by a federally funded school?
- FERPA (Correct answer)
- HIPAA
- GLBA
- COPPA
Correct answer: FERPA
FERPA protects the privacy of student education records at institutions receiving federal education funds.
Question 4: An online speed reading platform collects data from users under age 13. Which U.S. regulation primarily applies?
- COPPA (Correct answer)
- CAN-SPAM
- FERPA
- Section 508
Correct answer: COPPA
COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13 online.
Question 5: Testimonials in speed reading course ads that show atypical results must include what, per FTC endorsement guides?
- A clear disclosure of generally expected results (Correct answer)
- The customer's full legal name
- A notarized affidavit
- Results verified by a university
Correct answer: A clear disclosure of generally expected results
FTC endorsement guides require that testimonials reflecting atypical results disclose the results consumers can generally expect.
Question 6: A speed reading course sells prepaid lesson packages. Which compliance concern most directly applies to unused prepaid fees?
- State refund and prepaid-services consumer protection laws (Correct answer)
- Federal securities registration
- OSHA workplace rules
- Export control regulations
Correct answer: State refund and prepaid-services consumer protection laws
Many states regulate refunds and cancellation rights for prepaid instructional services under consumer protection statutes.
Question 7: Which practice best demonstrates truth-in-advertising compliance for a speed reading course's website?
- Citing documented study results with clear methodology behind speed claims (Correct answer)
- Rounding all statistics up to sound impressive
- Using fine print to contradict headline claims
- Removing all disclaimers to simplify the page
Correct answer: Citing documented study results with clear methodology behind speed claims
Substantiating claims with documented, methodologically sound evidence aligns with FTC truth-in-advertising standards.
SPC Industry Regulations & Compliance 2
Under FTC rules, a speed reading course advertising "triple your reading speed in 7 days" must be able to provide what?