My Mom, a person of deep faith, on more than one occasion assured me while I was growing up that if I would only fess-up to my alleged youthful indiscretions, my life would improve. Seems my Mom and the Federal Trade Commission have the same instruction manual. In the first major change in endorsement rules in nearly 30 years, the FTC’s new transparency rules apply to bloggers and user generated content.
While there is some wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Commission’s rules for disclosing endorsements are really common sense and in keeping with the best practices of social networking. Transparency is at the heart of the new rules and bloggers and content creators who remember that will be fine.
Those who don’t may get to contribute $11,000 to the federal treasury.
If you’re a blogger or you create content for social media, all you have to do to comply is disclose you are being paid or provided with free product in exchange for your words or pictures. Most legitimate content creators do that now, but the FTC rule is a good reminder that transparency is the currency of the social media realm.
If, though, you’re rating products for hire, ghost tweeting or blogging for hire without revealing your sugar parent, then the new rules are trouble for you.
This is when my Mom would tell me that “be sure your sins will find you.” This time, though, it will be federal regulators who are watching.
P.S. – Mom, it’s possible I did relocate the neighbor’s fake pink flamingos from their yard in 1980. It’s been so long ago, I just don’t recall.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment