Laws of Blogger Disclosure
It had to happen at some point, but no one was sure quite when. The US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has set forth new laws governing how bloggers and other authors need to handle their relationship with vendors. According to the new rulings, 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.”
In other words, your testimonial can’t say you lost 150 lbs using a diet drink if the typically expected result of use is a loss of 20-30 lbs. And now, if you write a glowing article about MacBooks or Windows 7, then receive a free notebook or licensed copy of the OS as yours to keep, those “gifts” have to be disclosed. There are several reasons for this latter ruling, in fact. First,there are tax and ethical implications to accepting “professional gifts” from people whose products you regularly help sell in the marketplace. Second, there’s the perception that the blogger or writer is simply being paid for their services…fewer people are aware they can get expensive toys by recommending product.
Basically, the transaction needs to be honest. The company is up front about selling the product, so you the blogger need to be equally upfront regarding the pay and “considerations” you received in your role as a spokesperson. That’s just fair, above-board advertising.
The problem that elicited these laws is clear: “what some consumers might not know is that many companies pay reviewers for their write-ups or give them free products such as toys or computers or trips to Disneyland. In contrast, at traditional journalism outlets, products borrowed for reviews generally have to be returned.” This makes bloggers much less honest brokers of information and reviews than traditional journalists, who must follow established practice regarding gifts and other honoraria.
Many bloggers have already stepped up to the plate, and are disclosing such situations already. This is the way it should be, after all. The Internet is supposed to be all about providing accurate information to product seekers and researchers. Bogus reviews written in order to obtain a gratuity of some type disrupt the honesty of the system. Disclosure clears the air, helping the system as a whole retain its credibility.
Good for the FTC for laying out the rules in an unambiguous manner.