Posted on October 6th, 2009 by Craig Maltby, Editor
New FTC rules on blogging and paid endorsements
I write a blog about the concept of immune balance. The blog is financially supported by a company that manufactures
a nutraceutical ingredient. Science suggests this ingredient may support immune health through aiding various immune components in the body in achieving a “balanced” reaction to health episodes triggering an immune response.
Ever since I launched this blog more than a year ago, my role and that of the company has been disclosed in the “About This Blog” page on the site. That disclosure language is right up front at the top of the page, not buried in microscopic type, and will always remain there as long as the operating arrangements detailed above remain in tact. My writing generally talks about new developments in research, everyday stories and anecdotes in my life and others whom I read and hear about, and media/third-party content on immune health that seems interesting and relevant.
The blog does not…and will never…tout cures, solutions, disease prevention, treatments, etc. connected to the ingredient or company associated with it. The blog constantly links to and houses research documents addressing immune health developments.
I may talk about my own health experience once in a while, and I do take the blog sponsor’s ingredient in supplement form. But I buy it myself with my own cash, and do so because I think it provides certain degree of value for my own health. And, as I’ve written before, editorial interjection and oversight by the company is next to non-existent. The only instance I can recall is when one time I posted something pertaining to swine flu. A regulatory guy at the ingredient company asked that I omit that post because he thought the mention of that condition in a certain context, even though is was a remote reference, might be mistakenly interpreted by others as connected to a treatment or therapy. I like that kind of prudence and discipline.
With that said, it’s heartening to see that, today, the Federal Trade Commission is issuing updated rules on blogs and companies that deploy social media in their marketing efforts. It basically says that any blogger receiving compensation from companies for their blogging must disclose that connection in their blog somewhere. That goes for Twitter, Facebook, etc. This way, hopefully, we might see a reduction in Tweets about “new miracle wrinkle remover” that pop up every 15 minutes (hopefully no one follows those Twits to begin with). It will also, ideally, cut down on rogue blogs that glowingly talk at length about products, but disclose no sponsorship or payment arrangements.
The FTC says they are not really interested in going after individual bloggers as they are identifying companies that are using large-scale pay-for-post schemes which they try to maintain as stealthy.
Any blogger with any professionalism and ethical grounding has already invoked the proper disclosure practices well before these new rules, and also refuses to take part in mindless robo-blogging to collect a couple extra bucks from questionable companies. And, just think about it; is anyone going to read blogs or tweets or Facebook entries that are just blatant–or even subtle–pitches for products and nothing more? Or blogs that make ridiculous claims with no supporting science? Those blogs are just editorial garbage to begin with, never mind the rules.
Here are a few more useful links on the FTC rules:
