FTC Proposes Crackdowns on Blogger Endorsement

In a proposed revision to its guidelines for editorials and testimonials in ads, the Federal Trade Commission wants to clarify how companies court bloggers to write about their products.  The guidelines, expected to be issued this summer, will require bloggers to disclose when they are being compensated by an advertiser to discuss a product. 

Bloggers are seen as a cost effective means of marketing a product or service especially during times such as these when marketing budgets remain tight. 
“The presumption is that we can apply traditional advertising principles like transparency and accountability to social media the same way as it would apply to traditional media,” said Rich Cleland, FTC staff attorney. 

Critics however say the FTC’s rules may be less effective at discouraging these practices than Google policies that penalize paid blog entries by demoting them to the bottom of the search results.  And two blogger trade groups, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and the Blog Council, have already adopted self-regulatory guidelines for how advertisers work with bloggers.  The FTC rules are seen to have much room for interpretation and leading advertising industry groups are advocating self-regulation by the bloggers. 

The FTC however says the buck must stop with the marketers who pay for favorable posts. “If it’s paid for by the advertiser, then the advertiser has an obligation to control it,” says Cleland.

For the full story, see the article in Business Week