FTC Rules Went Live Dec 1

FTC Rules Went Live Dec 1

FTC Rules went live on December 1- these new rules govern blogs, websites, marketers and online advertising agencies. Here is some of the elements that all must be conscious of:

1. marketer gives a product to a blogger in hopes of a good review

Companies that make payments or give free products to bloggers and other online commentators for favorable reviews for their products will now have to monitor closely the statements and claims made about the products and ensure that these relationships, if material, are clearly disclosed. If these rules are not followed they (bloggers and advertisers) could face liability charges for false and misleading statements. Violations for any infractions of the new FTC Rules could be punishable by civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation.


2. marketer may institute a word-of-mouth campaign where participants receive something of value in return for sending out emails, or tweets to their friends.

Rule: Testimonials which do not describe typical consumer experiences must clearly disclosure the results consumers can generally expect to achieve by using an advertised product.

In additions, customers who give the testimonial must have bought the product. The customer has to be real and not a fictitious person.

3. An "expert" endorsement-should be an individual that has special knowledge that qualifies him or her to make the endorsement.


The FTC has indicated that advertisers, and not bloggers will be its main enforcement target.

However, a blogger that violates the rules and who receives a warning will still be at risk.

If this rule is not followed by an affiliate, blogger or social media user, the said blogger and advertiser will be charged $11,000 for each infraction. Example: If you had two posts - You would be fined $22,000. One thing is certain, advertisers will have to closely monitor their affiliates for any infractions. And, the affiliates will have to monitor their own behavior as well.


Even though it emphasized bloggers, it will hit websites as well. Why wouldn't it? In fact, one of the company's I'm an affiliate for has asked me to please comply with their wish of placing an emblem on my site to indicate that I'm an "authorized affiliate" for that company. Translated, no online marketer is exempt from the FTC rules.

There seems to be a lot of gray area with the new FTC rules. Meaning, it leaves room to interpretation and thus, possible unintended consequences. Disclosure is another issue.

Where does the disclosure have to be on your blog or website-in your policy disclosure on your website pages or if a blog, after each post on a blog, or after the "affiliate url".

Next question, how will this affect PPC ads?