Sponsored Conversations: FTC Guidelines Impact Companies and Bloggers

Is blogging or tweeting out an opinion about a product or service advertising?

If you are being paid to do it, or if you have received the item in question as a freebie for a company, as of December 1, 2009, you are bound by the same truth-in-advertising guidelines as advertisers.

• Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
• Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
• Advertisements cannot be unfair.

The FTC has released a new set of guidelines (81-page-pdf) to explain its expectations. If you are a blogger that writes endorsements, or has received any kind of merchandise or service in an advertising sampling program, you must disclose that relationship and describe the typical results. And if you are an advertiser or business reaching out to... [View Full Article]