Bloggers have long faced repercussions for lacking transparency, but now they could face monetary penalties as well.
In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to revise its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. The ruling comes almost a year after the FTC announced the proposed changes. The update, which goes into effect Dec. 1, require bloggers to disclose any monetary relationships with sponsors. Bloggers could face up to $11,000 in fines if they don’t comply.
The FTC guides, which ban deceptive or unfair practices in advertising, were last updated in 1980. With the popularity of blogs, social media and celebrity endorsements, however, advertising techniques have changed considerably in 30 years. Under the revised guidelines, sponsored blog posts are not specifically banned, but bloggers must disclose a monetary relationship with the sponsor and may not write any false statements about the product.
Although the FTC doesn’t say what specifically constitutes full disclosure, Rich Cleland, assistant director of the FTC’s Advertising Practices Division, told the Huffington Post, “the disclosure must be ‘clear and conspicuous,’ no matter what form it will take.” Therefore, to paraphrase Potter Stewart, the reader must recognize a sponsored post when he or she sees it.
While some digital media thought leaders see this as an imposition onto the expansion of the Internet, others view it as the government recognizing the Internet’s equality with other media. As MCDM favorite Clay Shirky told The New York Times, “it crushes the idea that the Internet is separate from the kinds of concerns that have been attached to previous media.”
Whether the FTC move is a blow or a benefit to blogging, transparency about sponsorship is generally considered best practice, and now bloggers have more incentive to comply.
For more information about the FTC guidelines, check out my previous Flip the Media post and my final project for this summer’s U.S. Digital Media Law class.
Helen Pitlick has been a student in the MCDM program since spring 2009. She works with social media as an intern at Foodista.com, and in her spare time she reviews craft beer.
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7 Comments, Comment or Ping
Corey
Looks like the FTC is saying the $11K fine is not true. Check out this Fast Company article, which provides responses from FTC Assistant Director, Richard Cleland: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/jennifer-vilaga/slipstream/ftc-bloggers-its-not-medium-its-message-0?partner=homepage_newsletter
Oct 8th, 2009
Nicole Pairlee
Transparency is best practice, but forced transparency?—probably not so much. The blogging culture is generally alternative and punks aren’t keen to being told what to do.
Blog readers—especially digital natives—are alert to product placement in blogposts. When bloggers don’t disclose an endorsement—sneaky or not—they are commonly outed by more than one reader in a comment thread. Do not underestimate the power of a comment thread!
Responsible blogs let the reader know in some capacity. I love reading TechCrunch and really enjoy that at the bottom of each post they have a section that profiles the companies, products and people that are mentioned in the blog post. Pretty straightforward.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/07/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-startup-building-but-were-afraid-to-ask/
Was there a cause for the FTC rule? Did a ton of people buy a crap product that had rave reviews from a popular paid blogger?
Oct 8th, 2009
LADunkin
As a reader of blogs and a consumer, I like the intent of both Forrester’s requirements http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2009/03/sponsored-conve.html of transparency and authenticity and implementing FTC guidelines; however, I don’t think it will save us from ourselves. We, as consumers, must take responsibility in self-policing and making judgment calls as to what is authentic and what is not. The issue around sponsored conversations in the blogosphere isn’t black and white, and isn’t going to be solved with guidelines. There are too many nebulous topics that come into play, but isn’t that why we like the internet? I read blogs because they are “…personal, informal, off the cuff and coming from the heart – unfiltered, uncensored and unplanned;” (Sam Bayard, Harvard Berkman Center) http://ottawa.bbb.org/article/ftc-plans-to-monitor-blogs-for-claims-payments-11677 however, if they are anything but this, I have to filter it appropriately. The bottom line, it comes down to trust, trust in my judgment, trust in the blogger and trust in the company behind the product. You can read more on my blog post http://suppertable2dot0.blogspot.com/2009/07/trust-influence-and-social-marketing.html from earlier this year on the topic.
Oct 8th, 2009
RLeslein
As much as I like to think Blogs should remain untainted (ungoverned), this is the natural course that it ultimately needs to take. As you can see from this link (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132×2378744), even newspapers have had this problem in the past. And of course laws already exists and are enforced to prevent it from happening in newspapers, so why not Blogs too?
As Blogs slowly take over print (newspapers) as the more consumed version of news and information, there needs to be standards and practices, as well as laws and enforcements that help it serve a better social interest.
Oct 9th, 2009
Chelsey Glasson
I often think about how lawmakers approach the overwhelming, rapidly changing digital media landscape. Are they primarily influenced by businesses, constituents, educators, or others when considering new rules or laws governing digital media? From what I have gathered, a lot of lobbying is currently being done by businesses that can no longer compete in the digital age. Sometimes the laws that are passed as a result of the efforts of these groups and others, even with the best of intentions, have dire, unfortunate consequences for consumers.
It is inevitable that new laws will need to be implemented in the future to adapt to new digital media trends; however, how to we make sure that laws aren’t passed that prevent innovation and growth?
Oct 10th, 2009
gerritmcdm
As the internet rapidly swallows up every facet of how we get information, do business, and spend our money, regulation over some aspects of it are inevitable and needed. The reason it seems odd and incongruous when the government singles out something on the internet and decides to regulate it is because the landscape of the internet is so huge and seemingly uncontrollable. The Western United States used to be a huge uncontrollable place where anything went as well. Requiring bloggers to disclose any monetary relationships with sponsors seems like a reasonable requirement. Enforcing it will be another matter but requiring it is the first step.
The argument was made above that “Blog readers—especially digital natives—are alert to product placement in blogposts. When bloggers don’t disclose an endorsement—sneaky or not—they are commonly outed.” To me this is not a solution. The internet is like an enormous city. With time and experience you gain an intuitive knowledge for how to get around, who to trust, and where you are likely to run into trouble. But that doesn’t mean that a city should be without laws that protect the entire community. Just because I can spot a pick pocket, doesn’t mean that picking pockets should be allowed. And I don’t want to have to rely on a crowed of people shouting from the corner when I am at risk.
Oct 25th, 2009
Gerrit
As the internet rapidly swallows up every facet of how we get information, do business, and spend our money, regulation over some aspects of it are inevitable and needed. The reason it seems odd and incongruous when the government singles out something on the internet and decides to regulate it is because the landscape of the internet is so huge and seemingly uncontrollable. The Western United States used to be a huge uncontrollable place where anything went as well. Requiring bloggers to disclose any monetary relationships with sponsors seems like a reasonable requirement. Enforcing it will be another matter but requiring it is the first step.
The argument was made above that “Blog readers—especially digital natives—are alert to product placement in blogposts. When bloggers don’t disclose an endorsement—sneaky or not—they are commonly outed.” To me this is not a solution. The internet is like an enormous city. With time and experience you gain an intuitive knowledge for how to get around, who to trust, and where you are likely to run into trouble. But that doesn’t mean that a city should be without laws that protect the entire community. Just because I can spot a pick pocket, doesn’t mean that picking pockets should be allowed. And I don’t want to have to rely on a crowed of people shouting from the corner when I am at risk.
Dec 3rd, 2009
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