New FTC rules on testimonials and endorsements??

Hi,

I just saw an email from CB, which says....

"The Federal Trade Commission has issued new rules regarding the use of testimonials and endorsements. These rules take effect on December 1, 2009 "


Do anyone know what those rules and how i need to change the existing testimonials and endorsements????

 

You been living under a rock for the past few months?

It's kind of big news. Do some searching on DP, there are already a pile of threads which answer your question.

 

How does the FTC know the testimonials is real or fake? Either the endorsements?

 

Well, i'm not a full time CB guy & i havent visited the CB section here for atleast few months from now.

 

The FTC guidelines deal with ALL internet and affiliate marketing - it has nothing to do with Clickbank directly.

 

Has some one known this? Thanks in advance.

 

OK there's a ton of confusion about this.

Many people mistakedly think it is about fake vs real testimonials. It has ZIP to do with this.

FTC don't want people to use testimonials showing the best results and then bury a disclaimer elsewhere saying "results may vary", "results are not average".

They want you to be more explicit than that. And yet nobody knows how to deal with this, at least from a vendor point of view. It can help if affiliates have a statement saying that they get paid from affiliate links. But from the testimonial point of view, nobody really knows the score. FTC want people to put the disclaimer explcitly under EVERY SINGLE testimonial. Clearly NO VENDOR is going to do that.

They think the FTC will just make some big examples out of people, probably big guns like acai berry type products. But nobody really knows.

Now CB are simply trying to cover their ass with the new rules which we are forced to accept. Actually, I don't think forced acceptance will make much difference. I think that CB (as the legal seller) will be forced to comply and theoretically carries all the risk (vendors are not legal sellers). But comply in what way - as I say: NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW!

Frankly this is quite annoying. I am thinking of selling my vendor sites because this puts my liability risk a little more than I would like, even though I don't live in the US.

btw CLICK2SELL must be rubbing their hands with glee, what with being based out of the US. Non-US hosts must be thinking the same!

btw big discussion here about it, mirroring some of what I have said. http://www.warriorforum.com/main-in...2952-ftc-guidelines-clickbank-affiliates.html

 

Hey, Thanks all for the responses.

When was trying to get a new product site published thru cb, they sent me an email talking abt FTC stuff.

Does the FTC guidelines apply to people from other countries than US???

 

Time to move countries where the FTC has no effect on me... USA the land of freedom... Yeah, whatever... It really looks like it when you got governmental agencies trying to get in everyones business...

 

FTC regulations have an effect on all digital product sellers from USA. So if you're an affiliate of a digital product seller from the US, you're bound by FTC laws.

FTC laws are such that they certainly want to avoid all the hassle that happens after people file a lawsuit against a digital product seller. They do not want testimonials showing a shady dream and then not providing the same results once a customer buys the product. They want average results which are tough to quantify, almost impossible.

You've be careful with promoting affiliate programs whether you're from the US or not. You can get banned by your original product vendor if you do not adhere to FTC laws.

Irrespective of whether you are from US or not, take care. Study the laws carefully.

 

I have asked some questions at another post, but unfortunately I didn't get any reply. So do you guys think that I should switch my hosting account to a UK host? Will it remove any trouble for me?
Most of the affiliates have far too many sites to edit. I don't think I will go to add a disclaimer/caution to each and every post that i sold, every medical product that i recommended and every other endorsement.

Also, what niches do you think the FTC is gonna consider seriously? I know that the rules apply to all sites but it is not going to be easy to monitor all the millions of tech sites that recommend software and other stuff. I think they will focus more on health sites.

If the hostgator's big daddy is listening, here's my advice to him. Go Get A UK Datacenter Now!

 

Just to reiterate, Clickbank is the legal seller of our products. Vendors are not the sellers.

So really, the liability is all Clickbank's. They must be sh1tting it right now figuring out what to do.

Thing is, I remember an interview where they claim to have good relations with FTC and the like. So I'd appreciate a clarification from Clickbank pretty soon.

 

Here is a link to the official FTC Endorsement guides in PDF. http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf

I feel internet marketers should be held to the same standard as physical goods distributes. I am working to comply with the new rules and have been in communications with our legal adviser. (I have a few in the family). they are searching for ways to meet legal criteria in the most eye pleasing manner.

The current technique being discussed is to make a addendum on your testimonial page that has definitions of testimonial and endorsement. Explain that * means testimonial and ~ means endorsement . Under each testimonial, either put a ~ or a * depending what the review is.. In this way, you are making reference to each review and indicating that it is a testimonial or a endorsement.

There may be holes in this method. It is not yet a "sealed deal". But if you are making decent money with clickbank, I would highly recommend to start planning some change for protection. Whatever action you take, make sure to spell it out in your terms of service page. If an FTC agent stumbles on your site, it will look a lot better if you told him what he wanted to hear.

 

Client Contract Section 11

"In the event that a Party commences any action or files any claim whatsoever ("Claim") in connection with Your use of the ClickBank Services, Product, Promotion or use of the Vendor Spotlight, You shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless ClickBank, its related parties and affiliates, and its officers, directors, employees, representatives, agents, licensors, attorneys, heirs, successors, and assignees (the "ClickBank Parties"), from and against any and all damages, liabilities, claims or costs (including, without limitation, the costs of investigation and defense and reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation and court costs) ("Losses") incurred by any ClickBank Party as a result of such Claim, regardless of whether such Losses are direct, incidental, consequential, punitive or statutory."

The rest of the clause goes on to state the possible consequences of claims, and optional and mandatory duties of them and you in such an event. It doesn't say anything even remotely close to: You are protected under Clickbank's umbrella". If you get hit with a claim or FTC Violation, I'm pretty sure it will leave a hole in your pocket at best. And possibly even worse.

 

Sure, but it doesn't mean that clause will hold up in court.

I know that Clickbank have always been big on people saying "Clickbank sells our products" etc.

There's no doubt that from a legal and financial perspective, they are the seller. Vendors simply host material to make the sale possible. All transactions run through Clickbank. They are registered as sellers for tax purposes. They have VAT numbers in Europe etc.

Indemnification clauses are in nearly every contract and though I'm no lawyer I have the feeling that they don't hold up tremendously well in court.

Thanks for the suggestion of the asterisk. I think this is the route I will take too.

 

I'm happy your attitude for debate is on the upside. It's nice that there are people who actually converse without blowing up

You may indeed be correct about Clickbank's terms not holding up in court, but I can assure you that Clickbank's lawyer team's budget exceeds most if not all Vendors. You will need to front a very large sum of money to defend yourself against Clickbank in court. This is a battle I would rather not embark upon.

The asterisk idea may work. I will try to remember to update the board when my advisers reach a conclusion on the matter.

 

Hi floodrod,

I found a couple of links from the Warrior forum of how companies have started to react (also asterisking):

http://www.laweightloss.com/success/success.aspx
http://www.dualactioncleanse.com/

I'm thinking of doing something similar for my product sites before the Dec 1 deadline.

click2sell.eu must be rubbing their hands with glee about this situation!

Did you learn anything more?

 

Well, I assume those larger companies have decent lawyers, but that sure doesn't seem like much has changed. Maybe we should have to follow that rule on DP from now on, just imagine:


HOW TO MAKE $5000 IN 7 DAYS - GUARANTEED!*





* amount of money made will vary - results are not guaranteed

 

Has anyone noticed any changes to any CB vendor pages yet?

With a week to go I'm surprised that other vendors have not done anything yet.

Though talk on the blogs and forums is that this was introduced to go against fake blogs, newspaper sites and shopping channels.

This is helpful:
http://www.homewiththekids.com/blog/2009/11/clickbank-has-added-ftc-rules/

 

That seemed funny.

Will this work?
How to Make A Solar Panel For Less than $100 & Eliminate Your Power Bills

- the amount of investment may exceed $100. The power bill may still not reduce a lot.

Will this be ok?
How to Make Your Penis Bigger By 5 Inches

- Your penis may not get as big as we promise. It depends upon individual factors.

btw, I'm still not sure about what kind of disclaimers to add on my sites before finally setting some time aside to edit all my affiilate sites.. or will it be enough to just switch to a uk host?