Hired 'review' bloggers hey days over-disclose cash received else $11, 000 penalties per incident

FTC Sets Endorsement Rules for Blogs By Cecilia Kang Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Bloggers who offer endorsements must disclose any payments they have received from the subjects of their reviews or face penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday. The agency, charged with protecting consumer interests, had not updated its policy on endorsements in nearly three decades, well before the Internet became a force in shaping consumer tastes. The new rules attempt to make more transparent corporate payments to bloggers, research firms and celebrities that help promote a product. "Given that social media has become such a significant player in the advertising area, we thought it was necessary to address social media as well," said Richard Cleland, assistant director for the division of advertising practices at the FTC. Consumer interest groups have long complained about the lack of disclosure. They say consumers often have no way of telling what corporate payments have been made to bloggers writing on parenting, fitness, dieting and financial services sites, for example. .... Punishments for violations will range from a warning letter to a fine of up to $11,000 per violation. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100503620.html> _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers@bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

Well,..its about time! same should go for consultants who are meant to give professional opinions on systems to be implemented etc. On Tue, 2009-10-06 at 22:37 +0300, Gakuru Alex wrote:
FTC Sets Endorsement Rules for Blogs
By Cecilia Kang Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Bloggers who offer endorsements must disclose any payments they have received from the subjects of their reviews or face penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.
The agency, charged with protecting consumer interests, had not updated its policy on endorsements in nearly three decades, well before the Internet became a force in shaping consumer tastes. The new rules attempt to make more transparent corporate payments to bloggers, research firms and celebrities that help promote a product.
"Given that social media has become such a significant player in the advertising area, we thought it was necessary to address social media as well," said Richard Cleland, assistant director for the division of advertising practices at the FTC.
Consumer interest groups have long complained about the lack of disclosure. They say consumers often have no way of telling what corporate payments have been made to bloggers writing on parenting, fitness, dieting and financial services sites, for example.
.... Punishments for violations will range from a warning letter to a fine of up to $11,000 per violation.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100503620.html> _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers@bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general -- Davis Waithaka Maina Business Development Manager Systems Kenya Solutions 4th Fl. KCB Building Enterprise Rd., Nairobi www.systemskenya.com +254 721 305 374
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Davis Waithaka
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Gakuru Alex