The FTC's new rules tilt against bloggers

This isn't only about bloggers. This is about the whole internet marketing industry and getting a grip on some of the lies and deceptions being pulled on desperate people.

None of this should affect Bloggers if they have been ethical in their promotion (and I am sure the vast majority are). For those criminally minded (and yes they are fraudsters and scammers) I hope this comes as a kick to the teeth, and stamps out their disgusting livelihoods.

We at RainyDayMagazine have no problems with posting a notice to make it clear.

We don't think readers much care as long as the reviews are detailed and the conclusions are based on direct experiences.

This new rule will actually be good for sites such as ours who are willing to invest the time to look in-depth at the products.

Sincerely,
RainyDayInterns

This is a long time coming. The real question will be how it's enforced. This puts companies like Bzzz Agents and IZEA in an interesting predicament. When you build a company on pay per [inset word] in the "social media" space are you really any different than the world famous Bunny Ranch in Nevada? Sure, for a brief moment you're happy, but once the "session" is over you're still back to reality :)

Perhaps this announcement will curb some of the social media snake oil that's out there. That would be a good thing.

Ironically, I suspect that the favorable reviews of the regulation (above) are coming from people who are ignorantly violating it. Effective Dec. 1, it will be illegal to post such a favorable review on the Net unless you have actually read the regulation (as I just did).

This regulation doesn't target outright frauds or false statements; other measures deal with those. This regulation applies to one who posts a positive statement or "endorsement" about something, without having actually done adequate investigation - in some cases, a scientific study. It also applies to conventional media advertising, but it's the blogging provisions that uniquely extend to activities of Internet users who would not commonly view their conduct as "advertising." What also has bloggers justifiably upset is that this burdensome regulation doesn't apply to columnists who post things like restaurant or product reviews on a site operated by a major magazine or newspaper, but does reach almost anyone else who might post a favorable opinion on the Net while conveying any impression of greater-than-average knowledge. Also, the regulation does not distinguish truly famous or influential bloggers from neophyte efforts of my Uncle Fred. And the FTC actually uses the example of a college student who blogs about video games to show what they intend to regulate.

At least this is some kind of regulating the bloggers so they can place themselves within the confines of what is right. When I read a blog, sometimes I can't help but wonder if they are paid for it. This is not the only thing wrong with this issue. There is also the affiliate link that promises everything and charges a fee.

Evelyn Guzman
http://www.homebusinesssteps.com (If you want to visit, just click but if it doesn’t work, copy and paste it onto your browser.)

I think too many people are missing the real issue. The FTC (government) should not interfere with private business, period. We don't need more regulation. We need less.

The dishonest people will find other ways to be dishonest. The honest people will someday find that they spend way too much time trying to comply with all of the regulations and decide it's not worth the aggravation.

The people who may be harmed by the dishonest bloggers and other internet marketers will simply find other ways to be taken advantage of, until they decide differently.

When government grows to the point that they have "protected" us from every harm, we will no longer be free to control our lives and we will no longer truly be living.

This is all very interesting, especially for those of us that review books. I have two questions:
1. How is this going to be monitors?
2. How will FTC regulate off-shore bloggers?

Blogging Authors
http://www.bloggingauthors.com

The FTC guidelines are just that--guides for ethical behavior. They do not carry the full force of law. For many, it is just common sense: if you have accepted a new video game or laptop by a company and review it on your site, simply disclose that you have received an "in-kind" payment, write your review and your readers can form their own educated opinions.
Loraine Antrim

Hi, can anyone tell me where can you find the actual FTC rules? I can't even find out what they actually are.
Also, I'm in Canada...does the FTC guidelines effect me? How are they actually ever going to police it!!

Regulating gifts given to bloggers is certainly a lofty task taken on by the FTC. First of all, what constitutes a gift? Is a free dinner to a food blogger considered a free gift even if the blogger writes an awful review? There are too many bloggers, too large an arena ("gift giving") and too few individuals willing to do the tracking.

People who follow blogs should know the distinction between a news story full of facts and a blog story filled with opinion. Blogs can be wrong. Isn't that the point of a blog? A blog begins a forum. There are other people out in the world who read blogs and correct what is said. If a blogger writes about something falsely because they were given a freebie, they will get called out.

Blogs have their own checks and balances systems. They do not need government regulation.

Heather and other Canadians,

Here is the link to the changes http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus28.shtm

Let me preface my comments by saying I am not a lawyer.

This is my take on it...

For internet marketers the US is a huge market. I'm sure that many Canadian online businesses would not be profitable without their US customers. Is it worth taking a chance that your site be blocked in the US?

Will not being able to show the best customer results hurt sales of products that relied on outrageous claims to flog their products, of course. Will more responsible marketers be affected by these new rules too? Yes. But buyer beware is not enough and the wild west online is coming to an end.

The unfortunate thing is that it seems bloggers are being held to higher standards than celebrities who are paid to endorse products in traditional media through the use of their face, a quote or even a recognizable voice on a voice over. I guess the difference is that in traditional advertising it's easy to discern commercials from "content".