Bloggers Lose Rights
It seems bloggers are going to be losing their rights to privacy. Full disclosure seems to be what the FTC is looking for.
Here’s the Update to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising:
The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. 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. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.
This means the posts that people pay to have posted must be fully disclosed. It would seem that testimonials are also going to require disclosure. So if you thought of endorsing a product on your blog, I suppose you need to disclose your ties. The FTC has threatened to impose a fine of up to $11,000. It seems that some people just can’t stand full freedom of speech or privacy. Look for the law to cover everything, such as, twitter, myspace and facebook.
