FTC Regulates Social Media and Blogs

Hey Publishers,

There was some big news earlier this week!  On Monday, October 5th, the Federal Trade Commission revised its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.  This was the first time since 1980 the FTC revised its guidelines on these type of advertisements and the first time its rules covered bloggers and social media. Beginning on December 1st, you can be fined up to $11,000 per post that is not properly disclosed!

A main concern of the blogging community is what the FTC considers to be an endorsement.  According to the new guide, any kind of payment given to a blogger to review a product can be labeled as an endorsement.  Also, if the reviewed product was sent to the blogger for free, the blogger must include a disclaimer in the review and/or send the product back because it can also be considered an endorsement.  The FTC feels manufactures have expectations for positive reviews creating conflicts of interest and negatively influencing consumers' purchases.  In an effort to eliminate biased and bogus claims and testimonials (something the FTC has been trying to do since 2007) the FTC aims to make consumers more aware of the relationship between sponsored sellers and bloggers with mandatory disclosures.

So what can stop the FTC from slapping you with a $11,000 fine?  You can read through the 81 page guide or you can go straight to playing it safe and adding disclaimers to your site.  If you are blogging your opinions in exchange for any kind of payment, you must disclose it.  It seems the FTC is heavily regulating blogs and social networks, however, their main focus is on advertisers and maintaining the truth in advertising.  You can expect a much more established set of guidelines in the near future before the rules take effect.

To read more, there was an interesting article within the Huffington Post that clearly breaks out the implications of these regulations in all aspects of social media- from blogs to chat room activity.  You may also want to check out an article from the The Blog of LegalTimes on how the FTC is not out to get you.