New FTC Ruling on Blogger Disclosure

 

Blogger Catherine Sherwood recently reported on the new FTC ruling on blogger disclosure, saying:

"The FTC has made what some may see as a controversial ruling – that bloggers must disclose if they are getting paid by or are receiving free goods from companies whose product they have reviewed. These rulings are meant to protect consumers, but they also protect the overwhelming majority of companies that are using the social media honestly."

Do you agree that transparency is the only way for brands to gain trust?

Read the entire post and then comment.

so how is the FTC going to "police this" .... just trust individuals to say if they are getting paid.  And as a reader of a blog, how do I recognize a blogger who is getting paid from someone who is not?

To answer your question, I think transparency is good ... but it's not the oly way for brands to gain trust.  They must deliver on their promises as well.

Good point, DenDee.

RE: the FTC attempting to police blogger disclosure, I can only speak to what I've seen so far. On a few of the blogs I read, the authors tend to diclose information at the tail end of their post to let you know if they are employed by the company about which they are writing, if they received goods in exchange for the post, etc.

So far, I haven't seen any issues arise, but who knows? New rules generally means that folks will devise new ways to get around them.

Thanks for your comment!