The Federal Trade Commission assures that it 'is not and has no plans to investigate' the 'Two and a Half Men' actor despite his failure to disclose investments he made in technology companies.
- August 20, 2011
AceShowbiz -
Ashton Kutcher has escaped federal investigation. The "Two and a Half Men" actor came close to land in hot water after failing to disclose investments he made in technology companies when he served as guest editor for a special issue of Details magazine dubbed "The Social Issue".
His failure drew the attention of the Federal Trade Commission. In a telephone interview with the New York Times, the agency's assistant director of advertising practices Richard Cleland pointed out, "If you're out there promoting individual products that you have a specific investment in, it needs to be disclosed."
"If you have a significant economic investment that is not otherwise apparent, that may potentially affect the credibility of your endorsement, and I see that as a potential problem," Richard elaborated his statement, and added, "It's certainly a possibility that a case like this could be investigated."
Coming to Ashton's defense was Details editor in chief Dan Peres. "If you read Ashton's editors letter, you'll see he succeeded in his mission to get people to talk about and even criticize this social issue," he said. "I stand by how we communicated Ashton's involvement with some of the companies included in our coverage and remain extremely proud of the work we did on this project."
Ashton himself has yet to comment on what could be potential problems when the FTC gave the husband of Demi Moore the clearance. A statement from Bureau of Consumer Protection Director David Vladeck that was issued on the agency's Twitter page read, "The FTC is not and has no plans to investigate Ashton Kutcher."
