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[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 208 (Monday, October 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50129-50131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23514]

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 162 3210]

Victory Media, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both 
the allegations in the complaint and the terms of the consent order--
embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 20, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write: ``In the Matter of 
Victory Media, Inc., File No. 1623210'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/victorymediaconsent/ by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the 
Matter of Victory Media, Inc., File No. 1623210'' on your comment and 
on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address:

[[Page 50130]]

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikhil Singhvi (202-326-3480) and 
Stephanie Cox (202-326-2908), Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, 
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement 
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with 
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been 
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The 
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the 
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic 
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained 
from the FTC Home Page (for October 19, 2017), on the World Wide Web, 
at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before November 20, 
2017. Write ``In the Matter of Victory Media, Inc., File No. 1623210'' 
on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/victorymediaconsent/ by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the Matter 
of Victory Media, Inc., LLC, File No. 1623210'' on your comment and on 
the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street, SW., 5th Floor, Suite 
5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC. 20024. If possible, submit your paper 
comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC 
Web site at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making 
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social 
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by 
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has 
been posted on the public FTC Web site--as legally required by FTC Rule 
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, 
unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements 
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel 
grants that request.
    Visit the FTC Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice 
and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the 
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to 
consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission 
will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it 
receives on or before November 20, 2017. For information on the 
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the 
Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has 
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent 
order from Victory Media, Inc. The proposed consent order has been 
placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of 
comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period 
will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the FTC 
will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will 
decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take 
appropriate action or make final agreement's proposed order.
    The respondent publishes print and online magazines and guides for 
servicemembers transitioning from military service to the civilian 
workforce. The respondent does business under the names G.I. Jobs and 
Military Friendly. Its Web sites include gijobs.com, 
militaryfriendly.com, and militaryspouse.com. Victory Media also 
maintains active social media accounts, including on Twitter, Facebook, 
YouTube, and LinkedIn, under handles such as ``Military Friendly'' or 
``G.I. Jobs'' that attract military consumers.
    The respondent operates a search tool, School Matchmaker, at 
gijobs.com to help servicemembers find educational institutions in 
their fields of interest. The proposed complaint in this matter alleges 
that the respondent made claims that its Matchmaker tool searched 
schools that met respondent's ``military friendly'' criteria. In fact, 
the tool searches only schools that pay to be included, whether 
respondent has designated them as ``military friendly'' or not. Thus, 
several schools not designated by the respondent as ``military 
friendly'' are included in the Matchmaker search results. The proposed 
complaint alleges that the respondent's misrepresentations regarding 
the scope of the Matchmaker search tool constitute a deceptive act or 
practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

[[Page 50131]]

    Additionally, the FTC complaint alleges that the respondent, in 
certain of its articles, emails, and social media posts, misrepresented 
that its endorsements were independent and not paid advertising, and 
failed to adequately disclose that the content recommended schools that 
paid the respondent specifically to be promoted therein. The proposed 
complaint alleges that those misrepresentations and undisclosed paid 
recommendations constitute deceptive acts or practices under Section 5 
of the FTC Act.
    The proposed order is designed to prevent the respondent from 
engaging in similar deceptive practices in the future.
    Part I prohibits the respondent from making any misrepresentations 
regarding the scope of any search tool, including whether the tool only 
searches ``military friendly'' schools. Part I further prohibits the 
respondent from making any misrepresentations about material 
connections between it and any schools, and from making any 
misrepresentations that paid commercial advertising is independent 
content.
    Part II requires the respondent, when endorsing schools (or 
preparing third-party endorsements of schools), to clearly and 
conspicuously disclose, in close proximity to the endorsement, any 
payments or other material connections between the respondent or the 
other endorser and the school. This disclosure requirement applies 
where consumers are likely to believe that such endorsements reflect 
the beliefs of the respondent or other endorser (and not the schools 
themselves).
    Parts III through VII of the proposed order are reporting and 
compliance provisions.
    Part III is an order distribution provision. Part IV requires the 
respondent to submit a compliance report one year after the issuance of 
the order, and to notify the Commission of corporate changes that may 
affect compliance obligations. Part V requires the respondent to 
create, for 10 years, accounting, personnel, complaint, and advertising 
records, and to maintain each of those records for 5 years. Part VI 
requires the respondent to submit additional compliance reports within 
10 business days of a written request by the Commission, and to permit 
voluntary interviews with persons affiliated with the respondent. Part 
VII ``sunsets'' the order after twenty years, with certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the 
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or proposed order, or to modify in any 
way the proposed order's terms.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-23514 Filed 10-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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