The Federal Trade Commission recently revised their rules for endorsements and testimonials.
Blogs will now be covered by the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising last updated in 1980. So what does this mean? Well, effectively, the new rules are intended to be applied to those bloggers who write content for money. But it also extends to websites like Soldier Systems Daily who receive paid overt advertising. Additionally, it extends to any blog that writes reviews of products.
From the FTC’s statement, “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.”
What the blogger needs to do is to disclose to the reading public any compensation received for an “endorsement’. From what we have been led to believe this includes material as well as monetary compensation. For example, if a writer prepared a review of a day pack and was allowed to keep it after the review, the writer would be required to disclose this to the readers. It has been suggested that bloggers should also disclose if a product was provided solely on an “on loan” basis. CMP.LY has produced a set of banners that can be used on a web site to provide disclosure to the readers.
So could this also extend to forums? It should. We have all seen ghost accounts created for use by shills eager to pump up their brand’s cred. And then there are the internet “experts” who provide “free” advice that always seem to point toward the company that is supplying them with free kit. This is particularly rampant in the firearms business. It would be nice to see some of these connections come to light. Additionally, forum goers who are employees of companies will need to disclose this as well. As for forums, no one is sure as of yet who would be fined in the event of a violation; the forum or the poster.
So, for the record, Soldier Systems Daily receives paid advertising and the reader can readily see our advertiser’s banners openly displayed. No endorsement is granted or implied for any other products or services unless specified in writing.
Ultimately, we aren’t lawyers and we still aren’t sure how this will be implemented or enforced but with violators facing an $11,000 fine, it’s good to at least be informed that this is coming and to begin to develop a strategy on how to deal with it. If you are concerned that your website, blog, or forum will be affected by this we suggest you start planning now.