FTC plans to monitor blogs for compliance
June 29th, 2009 by John Dilbeck
Previously, I linked to an article that Lynn Terry wrote about this subject. Today, I found an article on The Washington Post…
FTC plans to monitor blogs for claims, payments
I’m all for this monitoring and oversight by the FTC. I think it’s time that bloggers and others be held accountable for the veracity of their claims. We need more truth in advertising - especially as it relates to the GRQ (”get rich quick”) crowd.
But, what worries me about this, is how will the FTC go about doing this? What will trigger warnings and what will trigger lawsuits.
Done right, it can help clean up the blogosphere. Done wrong, it can hurt innocent people who haven’t done anything wrong.
I’d love to see the FTC jump all over the websites, and their owners, who knowingly make claims that are not true. We don’t need that trash confusing people.
On the other hand, I’d hate to see someone who earns a few dollars by linking to an affiliated merchant be hurt because they didn’t adequately disclose that they earn an income from someone who purchases from one of their affiliate links - or when someone clicks on their Adsense ads.
What will the FTC require?
Right now, I don’t know. If you find something about this from an official source, please share it with us.
Will a single page on a site that discloses how we earn income from the site be sufficient (probably not), or will we need to post a notice on every page or near every link from which we may earn income?
For those of you who are receiving coupons, special offers, and/or payment from advertisers, how will you be required to disclose that when you post your review and/or talk about your experiences with a particular company or product?
Dammit Jim, I’m a marketer - not a journalist!
I try to make it clear that I am not a journalist. I don’t pretend to write objective news articles.
I’m a marketer. I earn my living from affiliate marketing, and a smaller amount from Google Adsense Ads (although I’ve removed them from this blog).
Some links are direct links to companies and/or products and I don’t earn anything if you follow those links and purchase something.
Most, however, are affiliate links and I’ll earn a few dollars (or a few cents) if you purchase as a direct result of following my link.
Do I have to disclose that for every single link?
Will I be grandfathered in, or will I have to go back and find every affiliate link on all of my sites and inform readers that I may (but probably won’t) earn something if they click the link and then purchase?
Will affiliate links be considered advertising or endorsements?
Many blogs receive compensation for advertising, either through Adsense ads, something similar, or privately-sold advertising. How will these be seen by the FTC review.
If I tell you that you should purchase something, will that be considered a personal endorsement? What are the differences in responsibility between paid ads and personal endorsements?
I think these are important questions, and I’ll be following this issue closely.
In the meantime, I want to make it clear to you that I earn my living by selling products and services to you, if you click on my affiliate links and purchase.
Does that mean that I’ll promote everything that earns me a buck? No, it doesn’t. The longer I work in affiliate marketing - and marketing, in general - the pickier I become concerning the products and services I recommend.
What do you think?
Are these legitimate concerns, or not?
Act on your dream!
JD
This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Advertising and Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Blogging, Network Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I think they are legitimate concerns. Seriously I can’t remember where I place every single affiliate link. There is no way I will be able to find them all either. I made a page explaining that I make money from affiliate links and placed the disclaimer link on my blog in the footer and I sure hope that is enough.
Deneil Merritt´s last blog ..Flashback Monday – Good News, Great News, & Killer Whale Arms?
June 29th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Good evening, Deneil.
I agree with you that this could be very serious, even for those of us who play by the rules.
I’m just hoping the FTC will put out guidelines before they proceed with enforcement so we can be sure we are in compliance.
Act on your dream!
JD
June 29th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I feel that same way, guidelines is the only way this will work.
Deneil Merritt´s last blog ..Flashback Monday – Good News, Great News, & Killer Whale Arms?
June 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
You know what? I could care less about the FTC overall. And I could care less that they want to monitor blogs for this one either.
Okay, let me clarify my positions. One, I think the FTC is an inept government branch that needs a major overhaul. They’ll mess this up just like they’ve messed up TV and radio.
Two, there’s no way they can monitor every blog. They’re going to pick out a pretty good number, though, maybe the top 100,000, to see what’s up with those folks. Lists like the Gurudaq will give them some place to start, since those are the guys always talking about the big money they make.
If they take down one Jeff Paul, they’ll have finally done something good. Frankly, though, I think they’re going to mess that one up also.
Mitch´s last blog ..Social Media, SEO And Your Business in 90 Minutes
July 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Good afternoon, Mitch.
Inept or not, the FTC carries the full weight of the government behind them and they have all they lawyers they need to make a point - if that’s what they intend to do.
I agree that marketing on the Internet needs to be cleaned up. I’ve said that for a long time.
But, what worries me is what they may do and how they may go about it. Being inept just makes it worse, in my opinion.
If they set out to make an example of some people, others may be caught inadvertently and suffer the consequences.
People who willingly break the law deserve to be punished. People who are making a few dollars per month to supplement their income should not be punished. Educated and/or warned, yes, punished, no.
It’s the unintended side effects of governmental action that make me keep thinking about this topic.
Act on your dream!
JD
July 5th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
We;re in agreement on this one, John, but, you know, I refuse to worry about them. Just like I don’t worry about Google and their page rank thing.
If they get the really bad guys, then it’s all good. If they go after regular people,… well, at that point, I’ll be voting someone out of office and someone else in, and I’ll then be hoping for changes.
Mitch´s last blog ..June Statistics; The More Things Stay The Same
July 9th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Well maybe this will stop all those “you can make 10k a week with our miraculous scheme” ads. Of course they’ll find a way to get around it eventualy.
Darmowe mp3´s last blog ..Darmowe mp3
July 9th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I hope you’re right about stopping at least some of that.
I have heard of several “Internet Marketing Gurus” who have been fined large amounts for those types of misleading ads, and some have been enjoined from marketing in the “make money online” field.
I don’t know if those stories are true.
Yes, if someone wants to get around the law, it’s just a matter of looking for loopholes and taking risks. Sometimes just a matter of taking risks even if you know what you’re doing is both wrong and illegal.
After all, they never expect to get caught and punished.
Maybe a good bit of that will be stopped.
Act on your dream!
JD