FTC Says Bloggers Must Disclose Freebies

“New guidelines released by the Federal Trade Commission say bloggers must disclose any money or freebies they receive in exchange for writing product reviews, a fast-growing and loosely regulated way for companies to market everything from diapers to movies. The move is an effort to apply the same rules that already cover broadcast stations, newspapers and magazines to the Wild West marketplace of the World Wide Web.”

On the surface this appears to be a favorable step in setting consumer-protection rules for the Internet. Of course, up to now common sense should have told you that, whenever a review is featured on a blog, it’s a reasonable assumption that the blogger was given the product for free to review.

But, then, don’t movie reviewers get to attend film screenings for free? Should their reviews carry a notice that they saw the movie for free? And book reviewers both offline and online get the books for free to review.

And what about celebrities who wear designer clothes for free? Do they need to walk around with a sign hanging from their necks declaring they got the clothes for free?

Or what about the five-star book reviews on Amazon that authors get their friends to write? Do those reviewers need to state their relationship to the author of the book being reviewed?

Bottom line: Will the FTC now have to expand its guidelines to include every review of every product or service offline and online?

Written by Phyllis Zimbler Miller
www.MillerMosaicLLC.com
Los Angeles, CA
Exclusive for HULIQ.com