New FTC Guidelines Dec. 5

Filed in archive News on November 2, 2009

© rcade


Much has been written in the past few months about the release of the new FTC guidelines which now includes discussion on "new media". This essentially means bloggers but could also extend to social media, such as twitter. The guidelines are supposed to deal mainly with paid endorsements but also discusses the usage of testimonials as well.

The question here is should blogs be regulated by the government? The American FTC does not allow average citizens to make decisions regarding guidelines. The FTC argues however that they are protecting consumers by standardizing the industry.

There are heated opinions on both sides of the issue. Some call for federal regulation to make "new media" more standardized like newspapers and other traditional forms. However some see this as an invasion of rights and the industry should be regulated from within.

Either way, we're dealing with a very serious issue that could change how countries across the world deal with bloggers. The FTC guidelines are available online for everyone to see. I tried to summarize all the changes and edits that concern bloggers but it was hard to condense all the examples and comments. Its worth a read, even if you're not American. This could be precedent for how other countries deal with new media forms.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the new guidelines, I don't think honesty should be federally regulated and some of the discussion on testimonials could be a violation of free speech. Plus, a blogger could be fined up to $11,000 per post for violating the guidelines, which seems steep to me. The guidelines are somewhat vague about the exact circumstances of a fine, they say they will review all extenuating circumstances so that they make the best decision. It will be interesting to see what happens when the first violators gets fined.

The new guidelines are in effect as of Dec. 5, 2009.

What are your thoughts on the new FTC guidelines?