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Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a final order settling charges that Victory Media violated Section 5 of the FTC Act in connection with its promotion of post-secondary schools to military consumers.

According to the FTC’s complaint, some of the company’s materials and tools deceptively promoted schools that paid the company for those promotions, including some schools the company had not deemed “military friendly.”

The order bars the company, in connection with paid promotional content regarding post-secondary schools, from misrepresenting the scope of the search conducted by any search tool, any material connection between Victory Media and any school, or that paid commercial advertising is independent content. It further requires Victory Media, in connection with an endorsement of any post-secondary schools, to disclose all material connections between the endorser and the schools.

The Commission vote approving the final consent order and letters to the public commenters was 2-0.

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