Why do you think it took so long for the FTC to issue final rules about a. 16 C.F.R. Part 436, 64 Fed.Reg. 57,294 (October 22, 1999). Franchisors’ use of the Internet?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its Franchise Rule in 1978, when the normal medium for transmission of information in a permanent form was paper. When Internet use became common in the 1990s, the FTC was faced with the possibility that franchisors might use Web sites to provide downloadable information to prospective franchisees. Was such online information the equivalent of an offer that requires compliance with the FTC’s Franchise Rule? The FTC said yes.