I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4445 
To direct the Federal Trade Commission to submit to Congress a report 
on the consumer harm arising from the use, in advertisements and 
other media for the promotion of commercial products and services, 
of images that have been altered to materially change the appearance 
and physical characteristics of the faces and bodies of the individuals 
depicted. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 
ELLISON, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 
CARTWRIGHT, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Federal Trade Commission to submit to Con-
gress a report on the consumer harm arising from the 
use, in advertisements and other media for the promotion 
of commercial products and services, of images that have 
been altered to materially change the appearance and 
physical characteristics of the faces and bodies of the 
individuals depicted. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Truth in Advertising 
Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Advertisers regularly alter images used in 
print and electronic media to sell products and serv-
ices, materially changing the appearance and phys-
ical characteristics of models’ faces and bodies, in-
cluding by altering the models’ size, proportions, 
shape, and skin color and removing signs of ageing. 
(2) Such altered images can create distorted 
and unrealistic expectations and understandings of 
appropriate and healthy weight and body image. 
(3) Decades of academic evidence links expo-
sure to such altered images with emotional, mental, 
and physical health issues including depression, anx-
iety, and eating disorders, especially among children 
and teenagers. 
(4) In 2011, the American Medical Association 
adopted a policy encouraging advertising associa-
tions to work with public and private sector organi-
zations concerned with child and adolescent health 
to develop guidelines for advertisements, especially 
those appearing in teen-oriented publications, that 
would discourage the altering of photographs in a 
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manner that could promote unrealistic expectations 
of appropriate body image. 
(5) Despite the shift in modern advertising to 
rely primarily on imagery, the Federal Trade Com-
mission continues to focus on linguistic elements of 
advertising, even as some advertisers use unfair or 
deceptive images to promote their products to con-
sumers. 
(6) The Federal Trade Commission has not 
made any significant revisions to its policies for 
identifying unfair or deceptive visual imagery in ad-
vertisements since at least 1983, well before the dig-
ital revolution in modern advertising. 
SEC. 3. REPORT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 
Commission shall submit to Congress a report that con-
tains— 
(1) an assessment of the prevalence, in adver-
tisements and other media for the promotion of com-
mercial products and services in the United States, 
of images that have been altered to materially 
change the appearance and physical characteristics 
of the faces and bodies of the individuals depicted; 
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(2) an evaluation of the degree to which the use 
of such altered images in advertisements and other 
media for the promotion of commercial products and 
services may constitute an unfair or deceptive act or 
practice (within the meaning of section 5(a)(1) of 
the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
45(a)(1))); 
(3) clear guidelines for advertisers regarding 
how the Commission determines whether the use of 
such altered images in advertisements and other 
media for the promotion of commercial products and 
services constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or 
practice; and 
(4) recommendations reflecting a consensus of 
the stakeholders and experts described in subsection 
(b) to reduce the consumer harm arising from the 
use of such altered images in advertisements and 
other media for the promotion of commercial prod-
ucts and services. 
(b) INPUT OF EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS AND EX-
PERTS.—In preparing the report required by subsection 
(a), the Federal Trade Commission shall solicit input from 
external stakeholders and experts on the data and rec-
ommendations required to be included in such report. The 
Commission, in consultation with the Director of the Na-
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tional Institute of Mental Health and the heads of other 
appropriate Federal agencies, shall ensure that input is 
obtained from an appropriate number of stakeholders and 
experts and, to the extent practicable, from stakeholders 
and experts that are geographically and culturally diverse 
and that include stakeholders and experts from the phys-
ical and mental health, business, consumer advocacy, and 
advertising industry communities. 
Æ 
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