Comments on: New FTC Rules Will Have Serious Impact on Blogs

By: james

james — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:32:31 +0000

Definitely one of the better posts I’ve read in a while. Thanks!

By: The Dan Rather Protection Act or how to clamp down on bloggers. | Gun Free Zone

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:34:19 +0000

[...] Snowflakes in Hell calls attention to the new Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. This is creepy to an insane degree. Read it with calm and you will see that the vagueness in its language sometimes brings out specific and scary targeting such as: Thus, a consumer who purchases a product with his or her own money and praises it on a personal blog or on an electronic message board will not be deemed to be providing an endorsement.21 In contrast, postings by a blogger who is paid to speak about an advertiser’s product will be covered by the Guides, regardless of whether the blogger is paid directly by the marketer itself or by a third party on behalf of the marketer…..For example, a blogger could receive merchandise from a marketer with a request to review it, but with no compensation paid other than the value of the product itself. In this situation, whether or not any positive statement the blogger posts would be deemed an “endorsement” within the meaning of the Guides would depend on, among other things, the value of that product, and on whether the blogger routinely receives such requests [...]

By: Diomed

Diomed — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:50:35 +0000

So is the FTC going to be hiring a few hundred recent college grads to do nothing but troll the internets looking for violations, or will they just rely on snitches?

By: Kristopher

Kristopher — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:24:44 +0000

Wolfwalker: Nope.

Dead-tree media folks have a right to publish anything in text they want ( short of libel or criminal conspiracy ), and not disclose any damned thing.

This is a first amendment infringement, pure and simple.

By: Bitter

Bitter — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:11:28 +0000

I didn’t see any formal examples of podcasts, but they did cite other new media sources such as forums. So I do believe there is a reasonable assumption that it applies to everything in new media. Though your example of Michael Bane may fall into a media exemption since he could reasonably argue that it’s an extension of his television show. Though to be honest, I’m not sure on that. It would seem the FTC considers that you as a blogger or even forum participant, you should know all of the FTC case law and rules on advertising and sponsored speech.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:05:53 +0000

What about other “new media,” such as podcasts? For example, if Michael Bane talks about a new Ruger gun that was sent to him for evaluation…do the new rules apply?

First Amendment protections for the media should apply to -all- media. A one man operation printing leaflets or running a blog should be protected the same as a large organization like the NY Times or CBS.

By: “FTC Writes New Blog Rules” Or “The State Run Media Protection Act of 2009” « Dante's Inferno and Firing Range

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:24:41 +0000

[...] “FTC Writes New Blog Rules” Or “The State Run Media Protection Act of 2009” Published October 7, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment By way of ex-Merchant of Death cum Fantasy Writer Extraordinaire, Larry “what round for gargoyles” Correia, we get the story of how fed.gov is trying to apply the “square peg round hole” theory in dealing with poten… [...]

By: Snowflakes in Hell » Blog Archive » Should Commerce Clause Be Top Priority?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:57:23 +0000

[...] wouldn’t have as much effect on popular legislation. What got me thinking about it was the new FTC blogger regulations. If you look at the enabling legislation that creates the FTC, it’s appalling it’s even [...]

By: So the FTC is cracking down on bloggers… « Monster Hunter Nation

So the FTC is cracking down on bloggers… « Monster Hunter Nation — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:29:30 +0000

[...] So the FTC is cracking down on bloggers… Posted on October 7, 2009 by correia45 http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2009/10/06/new-ftc-rules-will-have-serious-impact-on-blogs/ [...]

By: Bitter

Bitter — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:24:40 +0000

Hate to tell you glnts, but the media does accept freebies. Books publish review copies all the time to be sent to newspapers and other outlets that review books. Movies are screened for critics, outdoor writers are invited to try guns or visit new preserves, and FTC acknowledged this. They might not take direct compensation, but that’s not what this rule is about. The FTC even says that a review copy of a product is considered sponsorship for new media, but not for old. This hampers bloggers who are trying to actually report as well as bloggers who really just want to have a conversation with friends.