Bloggers beware. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials to include new media, specifically bloggers. In the past these rules have governed TV endorsements and radio ads. In an interesting development the FTC is now interested in governing web posts of a paid/sponsored nature.
Typically these fines have been paid by networks or manufacturers who have the capital to deal with them. I'm interested to see how the net responds the first time an individual blogger is hit with a fine, which can be up to $11,000 per blog post.
While it does raise censorship and long-arm-of-the-law concerns this could be a breath of fresh air, as we are all tired of the endless faux reviews, fabricated testimonials, and unsubstantiated claims on the internet, particularly in the MLM sector. More to follow...
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