Bloggers Must Comply by December 1, 2009
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On October 5th, 2009 the FTC published and released to the public its final revisions on guides governing endorsements and testimonials.
What this happens now you ask?
So, If are promoting a product by endorsing it you will have to state that you get paid by the product owner if purchase is from your affiliate link. Its pretty simple, the readers that come to your site will now be informed by you that you will be compensated if they buy from your link. You may do somethin as simple as saying, “Hey if you buy from this link I will get a little commission if thats alright with you” Something like that. I have read tons of posts on this and almost all of them suggest getting legal advice. I will state for the record, I am not a lawer and not giving legal advice here. “Yes, this is a mini disclaimer.”
This new ruling goes into effect on Dec. 1st, 2009. It’s not a bad deal acutally as this will help the honest bloggers and weed out the bad guys. What will be bad is if you don’t follow the rules.
David Goldman, staff writer for CNN Money notes in his article released on October 6th, that the existing rules carry a fine as high as $11,000 if product endorsers and reviewers don’t comply.
Frank Kern also blows it out and wrote a creative blog about this. you can do a search for him if you have not read his stuff already. The post has quite a bit of content from a lawyer that Frank knows.
So, do yourself a favor and go to the Federal Trade Commission site and read the entire article.
Personally, I think it is great for bloggers that are truthful and want to give great content to help consumers make informed decision on a purchase. Additionally I think it will cut down on the deception out there and give the consumers a better sense of security and good feelings about buying on line again.
Have an awesome day!
