So this week the FTC has announced a new policy to enforce penalties on bloggers who review stuff--basically if you're reviewing something that was sent to you, you should say so; if stuff was sent to you, you should give it back; if stuff isn't given to you, you should day "I'm doing this for free!"
It is obnoxious and insane.
Coverage at The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100501492.html) and The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=FTC%20regulations%20bloggers&st=cse).
In theory, after December 1, anytime I recommend anything here ("I really like the Star Trek DVD!" or "I liked the new Buffy graphic novel!") I could be fined $11k unless I explicitly state that I make no money/gains from my reviews, or if I do (HAAAA!) I should say so.
The sleaziest part is that Big Media--NYT, WaPo, other review sources--have no such rules. It's literally singling out bloggers for being non-traditional mediators.
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branchandroot
????
Date: 2009-10-07 11:24 pm (UTC)Re: ????
Date: 2009-10-07 11:34 pm (UTC)So this week the FTC has announced a new policy to enforce penalties on bloggers who review stuff--basically if you're reviewing something that was sent to you, you should say so; if stuff was sent to you, you should give it back; if stuff isn't given to you, you should day "I'm doing this for free!"
It is obnoxious and insane.
Coverage at The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100501492.html) and The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=FTC%20regulations%20bloggers&st=cse).
In theory, after December 1, anytime I recommend anything here ("I really like the Star Trek DVD!" or "I liked the new Buffy graphic novel!") I could be fined $11k unless I explicitly state that I make no money/gains from my reviews, or if I do (HAAAA!) I should say so.
The sleaziest part is that Big Media--NYT, WaPo, other review sources--have no such rules. It's literally singling out bloggers for being non-traditional mediators.