13 April 2011

FTC Regulations On Blogging Clarified

On December 1, 2009, Fair Trade Commission regulations concerning product endorsements in blogs took effect. A clarification of those regulations was issued in June 2010 by the FTC.

The regulations most notably say:

"I’ve read that bloggers who don’t comply with the Guides can be fined $11,000? Is that true?

No. The press reports that said that were wrong. There is no fine for not complying with an FTC guide."

I find that statement itself to be a bit deceptive, because there is certainly some penalty for someone for engaging in deceptive advertising, failure to comply with the guideline when it applies put someone at great risk of being deemed to have engaged in deceptive advertising, and it is not at all obvious when you are considered to be the "advertiser" who can be fined for engaging in deceptive advertising, and when you are not.

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