以信息对抗信息:美国广告披露制度的法经济学分析

Information Supplement:A Law and Economics Analysis on the Advertising Disclosure Program

强制广告披露是很多国家用来克制虚假广告的一项重要制度。本文在对美国广告披露制度的缘起、发展及其价值与实效争论的追溯与分析中,揭示了它的法经济学原则和价值,认为广告披露制度要求广告提供风险信息来补正广告中的片面或不实信息,是一种以"信息"对抗"信息"的制度设计。它既尊重了企业的商业言论自由权利,又保护了消费者的知情权,还可以减少双方的交易成本和政府的监管成本,使消费者能够基于对交易关键事项的充分了解作出自主理性的消费决策。单从消费者角度来看,制度实施的效果并不完全理想,但就各方整体利益而言,它已然是一种较为公平、经济的制度安排。

As an important system fighting false advertising, the advertising disclosure program has been implemented in many countries. By tracing and analyzing the origination and application of the program as well as its detailed rules, related disputes in U.S., this paper intends to demonstrate its principles and values as well as the goal of law and economics, and concludes that the advertising disclosure program is an elaborate systematical design for fighting false advertising. It not only respects the freedom of commercial speech of enterprises, but also protects consumers＇ right to know, and reduces the transaction and regulation costs, in which consumers could make independent rational consuming decisions based on key projects of their deals. Only from the perspective of consumers, the effect of institutional implementation is not perfect, but it is a relatively fair and economical system in terms of the whole social interest.