The Federal Trade Commission is getting tough. Getting tough on ‘bloggers’ who get payment or free product to endorse a product.

Here is the official FTC announcement.

“The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.”

Mashable says “the new rules would seemingly apply to any situation where something of value changes hands between advertiser and blogger” Source

Associated Press via SFGate.com says “The FTC will require that writers on the Web clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. The commission also said advertisers featuring testimonials that claim dramatic results cannot hide behind disclaimers that the results aren’t typical.” Source

It’s easy to understand that bloggers, and that definition would include any online publisher (Hub Author, Lensmaster, etc) who accepts cash or in-kind payment to write a review, have to disclose that connection. What I haven’t yet uncovered is whether bloggers have to add that dislosure to all their previous posts, articles, hubs or lenses.

My real concern was if it applied to writing a review of a product that you’ve bought but you have links to the same product on Amazon. I think that is answered (in part) with this

“Thus, a consumer who purchases a product with his or her own money and praises it on a personal blog or on an electronic message board will not be deemed to be providing an endorsement. (Even if that consumer receives a single, unsolicited item from one manufacturer and writes positively about it on a personal blog or on a public message board, the review is not likely to be deemed an endorsement, given the absence of a course of dealing with that advertiser (or others) that would suggest that the consumer is disseminating a “sponsored” advertising message.)” (Source: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Page 9.

I think that means that if you got a gift out of the blue, that you didn’t request, then it’s safe to do (what I hope is) an honest review.

The “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” (you can download it here) is 81 pages long and not the most exciting reading a person can do in one morning with only 2 cups of coffee in their system, but I did find a couple of interesting points:

“In contrast, postings by a blogger who is paid to speak about an advertiser’s product will be covered by the Guides, regardless of whether the blogger is paid directly by the marketer itself or by a third party on behalf of the marketer.”

“Although other situations between these two ends of the spectrum will depend on the specific facts present, the Commission believes that certain fact patterns are sufficiently clear cut to be addressed here. For example, a blogger could receive merchandise from a marketer with a
request to review it, but with no compensation paid other than the value of the product itself. In this situation, whether or not any positive statement the blogger posts would be deemed an “endorsement” within the meaning of the Guides would depend on, among other things, the value of that product, and on whether the blogger routinely receives such requests. If that blogger frequently receives products from manufacturers because he or she is known to have wide readership within a particular demographic group that is the manufacturers’ target market, the blogger’s statements are likely to be deemed to be “endorsements,” as are postings by participants in network marketing programs.”

In summary, if you’re getting kickbacks as a blogger, hubber or lensmaster, you need to disclose it. If on the other hand you’re reviewing something you bought, you’re unaffected.

Also note that none of this should apply to anyone OUTSIDE of the US. Unless of course there are existing laws in the country in which you reside that enforce it.

Edit: This does not apply to Adsense. On Adsense ads you’ll notice the bit that says “Ads by Google”? That is a disclosure right there. And despite that, an ad is an ad. Banner ads are known to be what they are, it’s not pretending to be a personal recommendation. The same will apply to in-line text ads (ie: Infolinks, Kontera) while it may appear to be a personal recommendation by being a part of the content, when moused over it is obvious that they are ads.