Legal Research

Bloggers Beware: The FTC's New Endorsement Guidelines

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Lexology, January, 19, 2010.

Bloggers beware: the FTC is watching
Hogan & Hartson LLP
"Bloggers and other reviewers must disclose any payments or free products they receive from advertisers, according to revised guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in October 2009."

See also the following article from Slate: 

Shafer, Jack. "The FTC's Mad Power Grab: The Commission's Preposterous New Endorsement Guidelines (October 7, 2009).

Excerpt:

"...Seeking guideline clarification, blogger Edward Champion interviewed FTC spokesman Richard Cleland on Monday. In Cleland's view, a blogger who kept a free book that he reviewed on his site would have to disclose this 'compensation.'.

'If there's an expectation that you're going to write a positive review,' Cleland told Champion, 'then there should be a disclosure.'

The FTC would also take interest in blogs that keep Amazon Affiliates links on their pages or display an advertisement for the book under review, Cleland expressed..."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).