Blog Disclosure Questions Answered By The FTC | Part 1 of 2

September 7, 2011

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Topics: Blog, Blogging Tips

blog disclosures ftc guidelines

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One of the most important aspects of building blogger integrity amongst our peers and our audience, in my opinion, is transparency, especially when dealing with product reviews.  Staying true to who we are and not misleading anyone is just one of many ways of becoming a trusted entity in the blogosphere.

An important factor to creating that transparency is having a full grasp of the blogger disclosure policy created by the FTC.  As bloggers we must be very clear about the products we receive to review, payments received for reviews and any relationship we may have with any particular brand.

Being upfront and clear about where we stand is essential but, unfortunately, for many of us this policy has caused more confusion and headache than simplicity and ease.

So to clear up any confusion and/or uncertainty regarding the FTC blogger disclosure, below are questions submitted by many of you to LBC and we made sure we got answers exclusively by the FTC.

1.    What is the FTC blogger disclosure about?

The FTC’s Revised Guides Concerning Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising provide examples that are meant to help advertisers and endorsers comply with Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce.  Promoting a product or service where the endorser has been paid or given something of value to tout the advertiser’s product is misleading and could violate the law, unless the connection between the endorser and the advertiser is made clear.

The Endorsement Guides reflect three basic truth-in-advertising principles:

While the Endorsement Guides were developed for advertising generally, and not specifically for bloggers, the Guides may apply to blogs when they are used for marketing purposes.

2.    Why is it important for bloggers to adhere to the FTC disclosure policies?

Truth in advertising is important in all media – including blogs and social networking sites.  It’s always been the law that if an ad features an endorser who’s a relative or employee of the marketer – or if an endorser has been paid or given something of value to tout the marketer’s product – the ad is misleading unless the connection is made clear. The reason is obvious: Knowing about the connection is important information for anyone evaluating the endorsement. Say you’re planning a vacation. You do some research and find a glowing review on someone’s blog that a certain resort is the most luxurious place they’ve ever stayed. If you found out that the hotel had paid that blogger to say great things about it or that the blogger had stayed there for a week for free, it could affect how much weight you’d give the blogger’s endorsement.

The financial arrangements between some bloggers and advertisers may be apparent to industry insiders, but not to everyone else who reads a blog. Under the law, an act or practice is deceptive if it misleads “a significant minority” of consumers. So even if some readers are aware of these deals, many readers aren’t. That’s why disclosure is important.

3.    Where is the best place to write the disclosure?

The best place to write the disclosure is within, or right next to the endorsement {blog post, tweet, FB update, etc}.  If you provide the information as part of your message, your audience is less likely to miss it.

4.    What exactly should and should not be included in the disclosure?

The FTC isn’t mandating the specific wording of disclosures. The point is to give readers the information. Your disclosure could be as simple as “Company X gave me this product to try . . ..”  What matters is effective communication, not legalese. A disclosure like “Company X sent me [name of product] to try, and I think it’s great” gives your readers the information they need. Or, at the start of a short video, you might say, “Some of the products I’m going to use in this video were sent to me by their manufacturers.” That gives the necessary heads-up to your viewers.

5.    Should a disclosure be included about a product, service or brand that is not being compensated even though in the past there was a partnership for a related product, brand or service?

It probably depends on how much you say about it. A casual remark like “I use X brand food processor” may not raise an issue under the Guides, but each new positive endorsement made without a disclosure could be deceptive.

6.    Are ‘blanket disclosures’ acceptable or should a disclosure be provided for every post?

A single disclosure doesn’t really do it because people visiting your site might read individual reviews or watch individual videos without seeing the disclosure on your home page.  Likewise, a button isn’t likely to be sufficient. How often do you click on those buttons when you visit someone else’s site? Again, if you provide the information as part of your message, your audience is less likely to miss it.

Stay tuned next week as I bring you part two of your FTC Questions Answered.

Related posts:

  1. The Differences Between Bloggers and Journalists Are Clear
  2. Want To Monetize Your Blog? Create a Media Kit {Part 1 of 2}
  3. 9 Important Elements Every Blog Should Have
  4. Want to Monetize Your Blog? Create a Media Kit {Part 2 of 2}
Jessie Nuez

Jessie Nuez a native New Yorker covering stories that focus on mobile and personal technologies. When You can find Jessie writing for her site Hecho Para Mama. Follow her on Twitter @JessieNuez.

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