The Association Urges Continued Self-Regulation in Lieu of New Rule
By: David Bland
In response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request for comments on its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding earnings claims, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) filed comments on May 10, the final day allotted for public comment.
In the 21-page submission, signed by DSA President Joseph Mariano, the Association presented a detailed argument that a new earnings claims rule was not warranted, but that if a new rule was to be implemented, it should provide a balance between consumer protection and the ability of micro-entrepreneurs to establish and grow their small businesses. The letter urged the Commission to follow FTC precedent and advertising principles, including First Amendment protections for commercial speech.
As the COVID-19 pandemic passes the two-year mark, the field’s giddiness from the channel’s record growth has given way to the emotional and mental weight of coping with ongoing disruptions from the Omicron variant’s ubiquitous surge. And with this surge comes more changes and shifts in consumer and distributor patterns. 
In the wake of the Omicron variant’s global surge, as COVID-19 case counts neared their peak of over 800,000 new cases per day across the U.S.,