Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Monday, October 05, 2009

FTC: Bloggers Must Disclose Freebies On Reviews


Commision also wants advertising testimonials to reflect typical results

PHILADELPHIA - The Federal Trade Commission on Monday took steps to make product information and online reviews more accurate for consumers, regulating blogging for the first time and mandating that testimonials reflect typical results.

The FTC will require that writers on the Web clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. The commission also said advertisers featuring testimonials that claim dramatic results cannot hide behind disclaimers that the results aren't typical.

The FTC said its commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the final guidelines, which had been expected. The guides are not binding law, but rather interpretations of law that hope to help advertisers comply with regulations. Violating the rules, which take effect Dec. 1, could result in various sanctions including a lawsuit.

GO HERE to read more.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How could they possibly police this ridiculous edict?