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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS
FTC to Bloggers: Show Us Your Payola According to a statement from the FTC, both bloggers and advertisers are affected by the proposed rules, which carry an $11,000 fine per instance and should go into effect on Dec. 1. Bloggers could even face injunctions and be held liable to reimburse consumers for financial losses resulting from product reviews that did not carry the necessary disclosures. The FTC statement suggests that receiving anything free from a manufacturer requires disclosure if you write about it: “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.” The FTC did not specify the kind of disclosure that was required to satisfy the rules. Nor was it clear how this government agency would monitor and enforce the rules. It is also unclear whether the rules govern any free product such as the review copies and review units manufacturers send to news organizations regularly and which form the basis of most product reviews. For publishers that partner with the many tech and “mommy blogs” out there, this regulation raises a new issue. In recent years many properties like MarthaStewart.com, the Today Show, Forbes and Complex have created blog networks that share traffic and often content across their sites. Will publishers be liable themselves for bloggers who work under a network umbrella made by the publishing brand? What regimens will publishers put in place to educate their blog networks? The problem of advertiser influence on blogs is most keenly felt in the mommy blogger world where scores of manufacturers have descended on the new legions with free products, ad buys and other perks. Mommy bloggers as a group do not seem averse to accepting gifts from manufacturers, according to a recent survey. The FTC “rules” appear to leave more questions unanswered than resolved. If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com COMMENTS
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