Tim Manni of the excellent HSH Associates Financial News Blog reports about a new FTC regulation:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a new set of guidelines today that deal with online advertising and endorsements. As a true sign of the times, today’s announcement addresses bloggers in particular. Fines could be as high as $11,000 for bloggers who do not properly disclose “material connections” to advertisers:
“The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement,” the FTC said in a statement. “Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.:
“The case of “a consumer who purchases a product with his or her own money and praises it on a personal blog or on an electronic message board” does not represent a commercial endorsement in the eyes of the FTC.
However, a blogger paid to post about advertiser’s product is covered by the rules, whether payment comes directly from the marketer or from a third-party acting on behalf of the marketer.
Read the entire FTC Release.
1 response so far ↓
1 Tim Manni // Oct 5, 2009 at 5:15 pm
TTLB:
Thanks for the mention and the link — much appreciated!
Tom Claburn said it best: “Whether the FTC will be able to effectively police millions of online posts and comments remains to be seen.” Policing the internet is not an easy task.
My guess is that they will focus their efforts on big-time blogs and celebrity endorsements.
I’ll definitely be checking back with you guys soon!
Thanks again,
Tim
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