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FTC Proposed Guidelines to Monitor Blogs For Commerical Claims and Payments

Federal Trade Commission, 16 C.F.R. Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising…”In order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated. The advertiser should also monitor bloggers who are being paid to promote its products and take steps necessary to halt the continued publication of deceptive representations when they are discovered…”

  • See also related Forrester report, March 2, 2009 – Add Sponsored Conversations To Your Toolbox – Why You Should Pay Bloggers To Talk About Your Brand, by Sean Corcoran with Josh Bernoff, Jeremiah Owyang, Tom Cummings, and Jennifer Wise: “Kmart gave some bloggers a free shopping spree in exchange for a blog post about the experience — a practice we call sponsored conversation. With appropriate protections for disclosure and authenticity, this practice will take its place alongside public relations and advertising activities in the blogosphere. Marketers should take advantage of sponsored conversation as an entrée into the online conversation. To succeed, you should get to know the bloggers you plan to work with and set expectations across your organization.”
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