Bloggers Must Admit Paid Endorsements or Face Fines

A lot of bloggers these days are paid to write product reviews. Whether it's a household appliance or a cruise ship vacation, some bloggers are compensated for writing about their experiences with products or services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that's okay, but that bloggers had better make it obvious that what they are writing is paid commercial endorsement. If this rule is violated, the offending blogger could be fined up to $11,000. Requirement for disclosure is nothing new. Bloggers should not be upset by this, because other media have been required for decades to disclose whether something that appears to be editorial content is actually a "paid commercial endorsement." It's called full disclosure, folks, and I for one am all in favor of it. More about this from Adam Ostrow at Mashable.com: "While most well-run social media programs already include appropriate disclosure, there’s still no shortage of unscrupulous marketers using deceptive practices to sell products. Now, with the threat of serious fines, those who look to push the boundaries of ethical blogging will be doing so at their own risk." Full Article... Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! - Visit us on Twitter! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed