FTC Establishes New Rules for Endorsements in Social Media and for Research Results from Corporate Funded Institutes

The Federal Trade Commission has announced new regulations that pertain to endorsements posted in social media and research findings published by corporate funded institutes.

 The agency has established that those who offer endorsements for cash or in-kind payment on their blogs or in social media posts must disclose these payments to the readers.  It further ruled that advertisers using studies by research institutes they help fund must disclose the financial ties between the institute and the advertiser. 

Social media has become a significant player in the advertising area and the FTC has not updated its policy on endorsements for nearly 30 years.  The new rules attempt to make more transparent any corporate payments to bloggers, research firms and celebrities for promoting their product. 

Penalties for violating the new policies will range from a warning letter to a fine of up to $11,000 per violation. 

For more details, see the story in The Washington Post.