Compliance & regulatory
FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
The US consumer-protection regulator that enforces affiliate-disclosure law.
The FTC is the primary US regulator of online advertising. They enforce the Endorsement Guides (mandate clear and conspicuous affiliate-disclosure), the FTC Act (deceptive advertising), and the CAN-SPAM Act (email). Settlements run from low-six-figures to multi-million for repeat offenders. Affiliate marketers operating in the US must disclose paid relationships above-the-fold, plain-language, on every page.
Example
2022 FTC consent order against a supplement affiliate network: $2.1M settlement for unsubstantiated weight-loss claims and missing disclosures across 14 affiliate sites.