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Ken Bone May Have Violated FTC Guidelines With Uber Tweet (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from VICE News: In a lot of ways, unlikely presidential debate star Ken Bone is a marketer's dream. He is undecided on his political leanings (for now), inoffensive, instantly recognizable, and affable on TV and social media. So it makes sense that Uber asked him to send a promotional tweet for this week's launch of Uber's black car uberSELECT service in St. Louis, site of the debate Sunday night that launched him to fame. But there's one problem: Bone may have violated Federal Trade Commission guidelines for advertising on social media by not marking his tweet as an ad or mentioning that Uber paid him for making the tweet. "[The tweet] needs to disclose that he was compensated," said lawyer Rick Kurnit, of Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein + Salz PC. "He and Uber are in violation of FTC guidelines, because Uber is also responsible for what their influencers do." The guidelines that Kurnit is referencing are pretty straightforward, and the FTC offers specific advice for how to craft sponsored posts on Twitter. "The FTC isn't mandating the specific wording of disclosures," an FTC guidelines FAQ states. "However the words 'Sponsored' and 'Promotion' use only 9 characters. 'Paid ad' only uses 7 characters. Starting a tweet with 'Ad:' or '#ad' -- which takes only 3 characters -- would likely be effective." Kurnit added that while the FTC "doesn't like" using simple hashtags for disclosures, he agrees that it might have sufficed. When VICE News initially reached out to Uber asking whether Bone was paid for the tweet, a spokesperson said the company is "providing him with Uber credit for his role in the launch." And although Bone and Uber wouldn't be fined for violating the FTC Act (Section 5 of which prohibits "deceptive advertising"), the guidelines say that "law enforcement actions can result in orders requiring the defendants in the case to give up money they received from their violations."
Celebrities get paid ALL THE FUCKING TIME to post shit on Twitter and Instagram and there's never any mention of "this ad was paid for by...". Seriously, go to look at one of the Kardashian's Twitters or Instagrams. And in case you might be thinking it's all coincidence, I used to do IT work for a company that was paid to get celebs to do that shit.
He didn't know so he can't be held responsible. Easy enough.
This is total bullsh*t. How is this "deceptive?" And last I looked, I don't see most ads saying that they're ads. Slashdot Op Deals at the bottom of the page has ads for 6 items, none of them marked as ads. Same with ads on TV, the radio, and plenty of other web sites. Ads are obvious - even the slashvertisements.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
in the election at this stage means you must have the political and social insight of a (very vertical) fence post.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
There are several candidates I want to vote against... I'm not surprised some people have not identified a candidate they want to vote FOR.
Seriously. A perfect example of how average individuals get fscked while the rich can do what they want. Every other fucking tweet/instagram/facebook post by a celeb is a commercial endorsement of some sort, I don't see the FTC making a fuss - until it's a (well-dressed) average American - THEN it's a problem.
Who is this guy and why should I care about anything to do with him?
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Govt says I can't say something? There's an amendment for that.