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I would hope a few skanky photo-blog reviewers are quaking after reading this CNet story about new US Federal Trade Commission guidelines published today.
Added: The FTC release is here. The actual guide is here, although the version currently online appears not to incorporate the revisions announced as effective today. And just in case you want to try making a complaint, the online Complaint Assistant is here. (The Complaint Assistant page notes that the FTC doesn't resolve individual consumer complaints, but that individual submissions "can help us detect patterns of wrong-doing, and lead to investigations and prosecutions.")
The CNet story says that the guidelines, which last were revised in 1980, have been updated to state explictly that bloggers are among the endorsers who have a duty to disclose "material connections" (including payments or free products). Specifically (quoting CNet's quote of the FTC):
What the FTC is calling for is nothing earthshaking by the standards of traditional newspaper journalism, where "full disclosure" has been standard for decades (other quasi-journalistic areas such as travel magazines, I'm not so sure.)
And I doubt if any legitimate blogger is going to lose any reputation by having to include a line here and there stating (for example) "Cleikon lent me a camera body and several lenses at no charge for this review, and when they heard how much I liked it, offered to let me buy one at the dealer net price."
In fact, I think that documenting all this stuff out in the open would have a salutary effect and improve readers' impressions of photo bloggers' credibility.
But I'll still bet a few of them are squirming a bit, and/or trying to figure out the most inconspicuous and vague way possible of adding type to their sites saying, "Yes, I get to keep all the stuff I plug"...
Added: The FTC release is here. The actual guide is here, although the version currently online appears not to incorporate the revisions announced as effective today. And just in case you want to try making a complaint, the online Complaint Assistant is here. (The Complaint Assistant page notes that the FTC doesn't resolve individual consumer complaints, but that individual submissions "can help us detect patterns of wrong-doing, and lead to investigations and prosecutions.")
The CNet story says that the guidelines, which last were revised in 1980, have been updated to state explictly that bloggers are among the endorsers who have a duty to disclose "material connections" (including payments or free products). Specifically (quoting CNet's quote of the FTC):
The new guides also address celebrity endorsements in a way that might apply to big-name professional photographers who are "sponsored" by various manufacturers: (quoting CNet's quote of the FTC release again):"...the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."
If the new guides mean what they say, and if the FTC is serious about promoting and enforcing them, all I can say is: "It's about time.""Celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media..."
What the FTC is calling for is nothing earthshaking by the standards of traditional newspaper journalism, where "full disclosure" has been standard for decades (other quasi-journalistic areas such as travel magazines, I'm not so sure.)
And I doubt if any legitimate blogger is going to lose any reputation by having to include a line here and there stating (for example) "Cleikon lent me a camera body and several lenses at no charge for this review, and when they heard how much I liked it, offered to let me buy one at the dealer net price."
In fact, I think that documenting all this stuff out in the open would have a salutary effect and improve readers' impressions of photo bloggers' credibility.
But I'll still bet a few of them are squirming a bit, and/or trying to figure out the most inconspicuous and vague way possible of adding type to their sites saying, "Yes, I get to keep all the stuff I plug"...
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