Federal Trade Commission decides how bloggers should disclose reviews
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | 0 Comments
The United States Federal Trade Commission said, on Monday, that it was going to make online reviews to be a bit more accurate for consumers. This means that the FTC was full disclosure when a blogger is being paid to write a review. The group said that it will also be monitoring testimonials to make sure that they reflect “typical results.”
The group is requiring that all online writers CLEARLY disclose any freebies or payments that they may receive from companies for reviewing products.
Rule violations will not begin taking effect until December 1st. When that time comes, even though the rule is not against the law, the FTC could fine the advertiser or blogger for that matter $11,000 for each violation. The FTC could even choose to sue if it felt so compelled.
A lot of bloggers, including me, do write posts for payments. I don’t get a lot of paid post offers, but I do get some. I’m sure some of you can tell which ones are which, haha. It’s a way to make money because somehow we have to keep the server running!
Traditional journalists are expected not to take freebies from companies; even products that they borrow for reviews usually have to be returned. There is a dollar limit of either $50 or $20 for an item for journalists, but I can’t remember which it is right now. It’s been a while since I took ethics.
I suppose the good news is that the advertisers are the ones who are really taking the fall for this one. Unless the blog writer is constantly violating the rule and has already been warned once, the FTC will likely let them slide.
The rules are a little fuzzy to me. Like if a blogger gets a freebie from a third party, then they don’t have to disclose that.
Charge cards vs. Credit cards
Content is Key
Tags: traditional journalists, typical results, dollar limit
