The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says bloggers can now be fined for undisclosed endorsements. What does this mean? It means if you are a gaming review site and you get a free copy of the next Halo game to review (and you don’t disclose that you got it for free to review) – you can be fined up to $11,000 (per blog post). So what if you get a free software download or free premium access to a web site and review it (and don’t disclose it) – can you get fined for that too? Celebrities that endorse products without disclosure can be fined as well.
What this video from a Boston news channel that explains this in greater depth, and then we’ll come back and talk about this some more…
Now then, the Internet has made it much easier for people to lie, cheat, and steal. Years ago, when everybody had the local newspaper delivered to their doorstep the way you found out about products was in the ads inside the paper. Particularly on Sunday, I can remember years ago as a kid the greatest thing about the newspaper was the Sunday funnies, and all the advertisements from all the stores with the following week’s sales. Whether it was video games, toys, clothes, or electronics (in our house), this was how we knew about all the things that were on sale.
Some retail stores would put loss leaders on sale (items where they break even and make no money), just to get you through the door. Other stores might do the old “bait and switch” – and old time scam where you advertise one thing, but when people get to the store you replace it with something else. Maybe the original item never existed, maybe the store only had 5 of them to sell (but never disclosed that in the ad). Over the years, this has lead to many “truth in advertising” laws being put on the books. I don’t know how much good it’s done, since I still see infomercials for losing 10 lbs in a week with “results not typical” in such tiny print at the screen bottom I can’t even make it out.
The Internet has matured to the point now where, for the first time since 1980, the American federal government has felt the need to update the laws of “endorsement and disclosure” to include online bloggers. This is to keep the “bait and switch” from happenning online in a different way. It’s to keep a company from giving 100 bloggers free access to their product in exchange for something. For a coupon, a free account, actual money, free software, even free products mailed to their house. It’s to keep Sony from sending 50 top profile bloggers a free next-generation Playstation 4 in exchange for a favorable review. It’s to keep the record companies from paying 100 twitterers from tweeting how much they love the new Lady Gaga album. It’s also to keep bloggers from giving a favorable review to the latest “keyword crap” software just because they got a free copy and affiliate commissions from any sales made from the blog post.
This is all very noble (and necessary), but I’m sorry – this are no “Internet Police”. The government can barely find all the sex offenders and pervs online that need to be locked up (we’ve all seen Dateline: To Catch a Predator). The FTC admins they can’t police 100 million blogs, they can’t even police 1,000 blogs. I have to imagine that they will only prosecute the most egregious cases. Like my Grandma always used to say “they don’t make signs unless there was a problem”. Well, they didn’t update the rules for endorsements because there were no problems online. The updated it because there are MAJOR problems online, and they intend to prosecute and fine some of the biggest cases that they find.
So – if you’re a blogger does this make you rethink the ways that you do things? It should. Like you saw in the video, some people still believe that blogging is a “conversation” – and it’s true, in it’s purest form – it is. But when that conversation can be hijacked by media or advertisers than it’s unfair. It’s unfair for the public to think that people actually like or endorse something because 100 bloggers (that got it for free) said it was good. The problem is, I can get free stuff, disclose that I got it for free, and STILL completely fabricate a positive review because I got it for free, and I want to get more stuff for free. How do you police that?
Items to read:
FTC Official Guidelines for bloggers
NYTimes.com: Bloggers must disclose gifts
This is truly interesting. But I think that this law will be for the good of everyone also. Thank you for sharing the news.
Thanks for apprising about this law, it seems very crucial.
Well, I think it’s just a game of hide and go seek. I have no problem with disclosure if that’s what they want to see, but like you said, how do they know my review still isn’t totally made up?
I wonder how this will effect twitter, since tweets are sent out all day long about movies, dvds and music, that obvously people like, but aren’t endorsing persay. We’ll see.
.-= Affiliate Marketing Blog´s last blog ..5 Things NOT to Do if You Want to Make Money Online =-.
But see this is the point, a fruitless regulation that in the end will do nothing to “secure” buyers or potential buyer’s of the discussed product.
As was pointed out in this post, there is no way to police this. Just think about this before taking this the wrong way, when we just accept the FTC delving into the CONTENT of the internet and our blogs, we give them a foot in the door. Before you know it they’ll want to tax your digital products you sell or market because it is being regulated and sold within the US borders, etc.
It might sound paranoid but look around, I don’t think there is any excuse NOT to be anymore.
I agree this will weed a lot of marketers out. Namely the unethical ones which is a good thing.
What I don’t understand, though, is exactly how to disclose the relationship between myself and the vendor.
The guidelines say that the disclosure can be placed at the discretion of the blogger so I’m a little unsure as to where I should be placing it and also if I should use a larger font or highlight it or something like that.
Have you thought about how you’re going to display it?
While I applaud the idea of getting rid of ridiculous flogs (lies) and unethical marketing, usually attempts by the government to handle situations such as this fall short. It is tantamount to gun control where only the law abiding comply and criminals find guns anyway.
So it is easy to predict that in the future we will find more networks and affiliates moving out of the US so they can keep up the unethical (but profitable) behavior. The “Federal” trade commission has no teeth overseas.
Just another hurdle to jump but we’ll get over this one too.
This information is really useful and it seems to me bloggers must keep it in mind when post any add. I agree that it will be the game ‘hide and seek’, and those who have masked badly may be punished. Anyway there are much more blogs than police so most blogger can sleep the sleep of the just.
Another quick note. Virtually all legit corporations who send products to bloggers ask them to give honest reviews on the products sent and do not require a positive review in return for the product press release so to speak.
I have never been asked to give a positive review of something, paid or otherwise. I have been asked to review products and services however.
Those infomercial guys are who they need to go after. That guy in the question mark suit selling grant books is a total fraud!
Those con men telling you that you can buy a house for no money down and make millions in real estate with nothing but some string and a pencil are frauds as well.
The FTC allows this BS to continue and thinks they can control the free speech of bloggers? Not hardly!
.-= Elvenrunelord´s last blog ..I’m Sorry but This Blog Will be Idle Until I Find a New Host =-.