If I understand this correctly, let's say if you have a website aobut "Web Hosting Reviews, you must give out information that you are actually getting $100 per commission per sign up? Otherwise, it's $11,000 fine? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html?ref=technology Freedom to give good ratings for companies that give you the maximum commission is over, you now must tell the truth.
Does this law apply to guys from out of the US? I think, if the US want their bloggers to disclose the fact that they are linked to the advertiser of the product, then I can't stop them can I? But no other gov. has taken such a step......yet.
Couldn't this fall in the legal disclaimer section if you have one? Just add a bit about how you are an affiliate as well as user of the product and that'd be it? And I notice they keep focusing on "bloggers" in virtually every source I'm reading this from. Not to nitpick, but it obviously makes a difference if they mean webmasters who strike up a repoire with their audience and promote via blogs as opposed other forms of reviews? Anyone shed some more light on this cos I'm wondering who falls under this umbrella and what at the minimum we need to do about it. It seems like they're still outlining what they want people to do from what I've heard today.
Who is going to enforce this i dont see this happening at all. Like with that stupid cell phone law they say got all big about it and said it is illegal. Great do you see people not doing it. FTC can kiss my you know what. They are over extending in my mind there powers. What is next i need to hold the consumers hand and tell them if they buy it with a credit card they have to pay intrest. How about the FTC stops people like bernie madolf and stops worrying about stupid stuff like this.
I know blogs are the most effective marketing tool online but do you think that making money online using a blog is the only way to do so??? There are plenty other ways around to encounter this situation. In fact, these laws have always been there. I think they wanted to let the advertisers know that they're watching and they'll have to put pressure on them if they don't make any updates. And it's not $11,000 fine! It's UP to an $11,000 fine. These are endorsement guides that has been there since the 1980's to intemperate the law so, it can help advertisers to comply with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) These are NO regulations or rules NOR fine or penalty. They will go after the advertisers who make the payments and NOT focus on the "bloggers". Thought i'd refresh things up a little. Correct me if im wrong. Even though we all know that they are watching us. This is what happen when too much people are making huge amount of money.
What's the problem? This is a way of protecting the consumer, and it's fine as long as it doesn't go too far. If someone is praising some product to the skies and saying it's the best thing since sliced bread etc. etc. then surely the I as the potential customer have a right to know that they are not exactly impartial and would have an interest in potentially misleading me!
I totally agree with you markowe Too much garbage on the internet or should i say people who only thinks about the money. Quality comes first then you'll get good results.
I don't use testimonials, I simply offer information on products, sometimes in comparisons against each other and rank whichever offers the most on top such as the Forex link in my sig. I don't think there are any red flags associated with that. But... The point is I'm still "reviewing" them, and wasn't there a bit in there from the FTC saying that we had to mention if we were receiving any compensation for saying good things about a product? Maybe I misread or interpreted that, but I thought this went far beyond using testimonials. Can anyone expand on this for me?
I heard a broadcast on NPR radio yesterday, I was shocked to hear that from now on you have to report each and every activity you have with a blogger or an advertiser. I think it's just another way of taxing more people for there revenues, since some bloggers make hunderd of thousands of dollars each year.
What happen is when you review a certain product or whatsoever, you have to let the customer know that you got this product for free or bought it for a certain price and that you will get a commission if he buys the product from you. These rules have always been there. When it comes to making money online or other places, people just want to do the same and dont do their research on the laws or rules before doing so.
Well, I think this makes sense. Many celebrities are pushing products on Twitter and other blogging sites and are getting paid but are not stating that they are talking about the product not because they think it is the best, but because they got paid to talk about it. Also, many of them do not report this as their revenue in order to avoid paying taxes.
Not at all! They just want to let you know that they are watching you and if you start or keep writing reviews without the disclaimers, they may take legal actions. You're still getting taxed wether you had to mention the disclaimers or not because after all, it sucks but you still have to report the amount of money you've made per year or you might lose it all anyways. Just do the right thing
You just opened my eyes! I know the rules have always been there but if you take a look at twitter, you see all the government staff, fake twitter accounts and spammers, i think they the reason why it all happened. They saw the evolution after a certain amount of time that people are just promoting products twitter and all by writing a short message under 145 characters without any disclaimers. I don't like twitter that much. It's just a waist of time for me to promote something on there by being limited on your sentences.
There's another thread going about this topic that has some good info too. New FTC Rules, Fines to $11,000 - Affiliates and Bloggers Must Read
Why do you think celebrities spend so much time on Twitter and Facebook updating their fans? Because they get paid to do it - simple! If I got paid like they do, of course I'll be tweeting even when I went to the washroom. I would take out my Backberry and tweet about how much I like this toilet paper; ummm...very soft indeed. Cha-ching! I would get $500-$1000 for just saying how I like this toilet paper. Wouldn't that be nice?!
Can we just link to our disclaimer with a link at the bottom of the landing page would you say? I'm foggy on the implementation more than anything. I have a legal disclaimer section on the 4x site in my sig, just throw in a bit there about how I take a piece if they buy and I should be square, shouldn't I?
Did you really asked me this question??? Of course i would buddy! Getting payed $1000 per several tweets! I would tweet all day.
That might be a good idea but i think you'll have to mention every detail in your article. I guess they want you to notify the customer by adding every details. It shouldn't be that much difficult. Maybe you'll get less buyers but when you selling something to someone, its all about words that sells and convincing him.
This thread above give you a lot of details on what's happening and what are the next step to take to encounter this situation.