Industry Self-Regulation
The 1999 FTC Report to Congress
Commerce on the World Wide Web is booming. The U.S. Departmentof Commerce recently announced that online sales tripled fromapproximately $3 billion in 1997 to approximately $9 billion in1998. Online revenues of North American retailers in the firsthalf of 1998 were approximately $4.4 billion. Online advertisingrevenues have grown from $906.5 million in 1996 to $1.92 billionin 1998. In 1998, revenues for Internet advertising exceeded thosefor advertising on outdoor billboards.It is estimated that almost 80 million adults in the UnitedStates are using the Internet. They are finding a vast array ofproducts, services, and information in a marketplace that hasexperienced exponential growth since…
