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FTC States Bloggers Must Disclose Paid Reviews

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the competition-for-best-review-reward-begins-now dept.

An anonymous reader writes to tell us that in the first revision of how endorsements and testimonials work since 1980, bloggers will now be required by the FTC to clearly disclose freebies or payments they received for product reviews. "the commission stopped short Monday of specifying how bloggers must disclose any conflicts of interest. The FTC said its commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the final guidelines, which had been expected. Penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation. The rules take effect Dec. 1."

8 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Astroturfing. by JCSoRocks · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe the astroturfing garbage will finally stop... or at least be more obvious.

    --
    You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    1. Re:Astroturfing. by moogsynth · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe the astroturfing garbage will finally stop... or at least be more obvious.

      That's pretty naive. Of course it will continue. Although it will be obvious to you or me, it will still be somewhat deceptive. They'll probably try and portray the freebies themselves as positive endorsements for Company X. "Luckily for me they even included a stylish bag to carry it around in! These will be sold separately and I must say they look super stylish!!!!1"

    2. Re:Astroturfing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nothing good will come of this except more $$$ for more government positions or contractors.

    3. Re:Astroturfing. by mrjohnson · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not in time to prevent the massive astroturfing campaign for Windows 7, however...

    4. Re:Astroturfing. by mcmonkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why would you hope for someone with similar biases?

      For something like game reviews, yes, if the reviewer and I have liked the same games in the past then I have a better shot at liking the new game that just got the good review.

      However for political and social commentary, what do I get from reading a web log written from the point of view of my own biases? Someone to tell me what I already believe so I can respond with how insightful the poster is?

      If I read a web log written from a different perspective, I might actually learn something (I know--scary thought).

      At least then when I walk away with my same old biases, they've been positively reenforced by standing up to counterargument rather than coming out of the echo chamber of people who all agree.

    5. Re:Astroturfing. by kannibal_klown · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Personally for reviews I like to find the ones reporting problems or other low-scoring responses.

      Great, 80% of the owners on the forum LOVE this car and think it's god's gift. Good for you.

      I want to read from that other 20% where people are talking about rattling, quirks, and bad experiences.

      Those 80% are usually from Joe Sixpack applauding the number of cup holders and the glovebox, or couldn't tell a quality DLP tv from a 10-year-old analog projector TV.

      I like to get some of the good reviews too, and sometimes a bad review is just the writer's bias showing, but I find it informative.

  2. What about politicians? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Stop calling it lobbying and call it by its real name: bribery. Will the politicians be fined to death in slices of $11K?

  3. US only by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The FTC rules only apply to people in the US. Once again this is an example of how one country's laws are meaningless on the Internet. They will simply pay non-Americans to astroturf. You cannot tell whether someone is typing with an American accent on the net - although cultural references can sometimes give it away.