Bloggers Face $11k FTC Fines For Not Disclosing Paid Endorsements

This blog post was not sponsored by anyone. If it were, I would have to disclose such a relationship or face up to $11,000 in fines from the Federal Trade Commission, according to newly published guidelines.

An update to FTCs Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising includes the following language (emphasis added):

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that material connections (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers connections that consumers would not expect must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other word-of-mouth marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a...