Is blogging without disclosure legal? Please read the following from the FTC and decide for yourself.

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. 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. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Celebrity endorsers also are addressed in the revised Guides. While the 1980 Guides did not explicitly state that endorsers as well as advertisers could be liable under the FTC Act for statements they make in an endorsement, the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

The Guides are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act; they are not binding law themselves. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.

The Commission vote approving issuance of the Federal Register notice detailing the changes was 4-0. The notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly, and is available now on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. Copies also are available from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Betsy Lordan
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-3707

STAFF CONTACT:

Richard Cleland
Bureau of Consumer Protection 
202-326-3088

(FTC File No. P034520)

(endorsement testimonial guide.wpd)

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Also this:

NEW YORK The Federal Trade Commission has issued new guidelines designed to set clearer rules for disclosure in social media influencer campaigns.
 
The guidelines state that bloggers who have received money or "in-kind payment" tied to product reviews must disclose such deals to readers. Companies that refer to a research group finding about a product must disclose any relationship with that organization. 
 
The new rules are the first update the FTC has made to its guide for testaments and endorsements in advertising since 1980. They bring into sharper focus the relationship of bloggers and brands. The FTC chose not to make a distinction between professional bloggers and amateurs. It also does not differentiate between paying cash and providing product samples.

Violators face fines of up to $11,000 per infraction.
 http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ftc-bloggers-must-d...

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Some Contact Information for Media Watchdog Organizations

1. Columbia Journalism Review's "Darts and Laurels"

 

Example: http://www.cjr.org/darts_and_laurels/darts_and_laurels_1.php

 

 

Email:

 

dartsandlaurels@cjr.org

 

 

Other contact info:

 

http://www.cjr.org/contact/contact.php

 

 

You can also praise a media outlet here, where you see they've done a great job of note.

 

 

 

2. Columbia Journalism Review (Submit News Tip)

 

editors@cjr.org

 

  

   

3. Editor & Publisher Magazine 

 

Editor & Publisher

17782 Cowan, Suite A

Irvine , CA 92614

Editorial Phone: (949) 660-6150

Editorial Fax: (949) 660-6172

 

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/contacts.aspx

 

     

 

Jeff Fleming

Editor in Chief

jeff@editorandpublisher.com

949-660-6150, Ext: 218

 

Kristina Ackermann

Managing Editor

kristina@editorandpublisher.com

 

 

Deena Higgs Nenad

Associate Editor

deena@editorandpublisher.com

 

 

4. National Coalition Against Censorship 

 

275 7th Avenue, #1504

New York , NY 10001

 

tel: (212) 807 - 6222

fax: (212) 807 - 6245

 

http://www.ncac.org/

 

 

Board and advisors: http://www.ncac.org/board-and-advisors

 

 

Email: ncac@ncac.org

 

 

5. Center For Democracy & Technology

 

CDT works to keep the Internet and communications technologies free of government censorship and content gatekeepers alike, and to extend the highest level of free speech protection afforded the Internet to all converged media. User choice and control over access to information are the key to protecting core First Amendment values while still addressing important social ills in the digital age. Through our advocacy, CDT seeks to maximize the ability of individuals to decide for themselves what they say, hear, publish, and access online.

 

http://www.cdt.org/issue/free-expression

 

 

Contact info: http://www.cdt.org/contact

 

 

6. Electronic Frontier Foundation 

 

http://www.eff.org/work

 

 

Email: information@eff.org

 

 

Takedown Hall of Shame: Submit an Honoree

Do you know of a culprit who ought to be included in the Hall Of Shame? Send us an email! We can't promise to reply to all submissions, but we do want to hear from you.

 

  Email: takedowns@eff.orgg

 

 

 

7. American Civil Liberties Union - Internet Censorship

 

http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/internet-censorship

 

 

Maine Civil Liberties Union

 

Executive Director: Shenna Bellows

 

401 Cumberland Avenue, Suite 105

Portland , ME 04101

 

Phone: (207) 774-5444 Fax: (207) 774-1103 | Email: info@mclu.org

 

Web: http://www.mclu.org

 

 

 

 

8. Poynter Institute - First Amendment / FOI Bibliography

 

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77627

 

 

   

9. Maine Press Association

 

To promote and foster high ethical standards ...

 

http://mainepress.wordpress.com/about/

   

 

 

10. Al Diamon - Media Mutt

 

http://thebollard.com/2012/09/12/media-mutt-7/

 

 

Email: aldiamon@herniahill.net