Topic: Journalism Reform is here!!! Bloggers beware!!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Now NWR has to disclose the swag & millions of dollars they make a year on favorable reviews and news coverage!!!

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials
Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkwZoioSbjzxT0I75HWiZSvFrAXAD9B502N80

FTC: Bloggers must disclose payments for reviews

PHILADELPHIA — The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products.
It is the first time since 1980 that the commission has revised its guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and the first time the rules have covered bloggers.
But the commission stopped short Monday of specifying how bloggers must disclose any conflicts of interest.
The FTC said its commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the final guidelines, which had been expected. Penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation.
The rules take effect Dec. 1.

[vudu]

What about freebies or payments they get for previews?  Screen shots?  Just for being swell?

The wording seems intentionally vague and I doubt a whole lot will come of this.

[ShyGuy]

How does this affect affiliate links? I like widgets, and I recommend buying widgets from widgetworld.com, from where I receive a 10% commission for each sale I send from my website to theirs.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

COUGH IT UP, PGC

[BlackNMild2k1]

more quotes

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Celebrity endorsers also are addressed in the revised Guides. While the 1980 Guides did not explicitly state that endorsers as well as advertisers could be liable under the FTC Act for statements they make in an endorsement, the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

[Ian Sane]

Going after bloggers is fucking stupid.  Most bloggers are not associated with any company or anything and are effectively just some guy on the internet.  I don't think he should be put to the same standards as a professional web site.  There is a big difference between a magazine or newspaper and just some guy photocopying a newsletter.  The only difference with the internet is that it's easier to be the guy at Kinkos photocopying his newsletter.  To me the inclusion of blogs shows a misunderstanding of what a blog is.  In other words it's old fogies making rules about stuff they know nothing about.

But the internet is anarchy without fear of violence and I really like it that way.  I can also see why governments would see that as something that needs to be "fixed" with legislation.

Damn fool kids on the internets with their facebooks and ipods!!

[ThePerm]

politics? How will the U.S Government tax and regulate Canadian bloggers?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

When the "blogger" begins accepting "gifts" and establish media relations with these companies, they're crossing some sort of weird line, and no longer just some guy on the interweb.

Even the bloggers are misunderstanding what a blog is.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Zap, what's the response of the Canadian B.logging Industry?  Will they be forced to disclose their lumber to the tyrants of Amerika?

[BlackNMild2k1]

Ian, how about when professional sites have independent "bloggers" reviews posted up on their site.
Who should be accountable for paid advertisingreviews then? They are just trying to close the loop holes before they are exploited too heavily.

[broodwars]

I'm curious if these same rules will also apply to "professional journalists", so we get to see what swag reviewers at say IGN or Game Informer received when they reviewed a product.  I'm completely in favor of full disclosure, but if they're going after bloggers on this it had better apply to everyone regardless of "professional" status.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Transparency. What we all wish to see.

[Ian Sane]

Ian, how about when professional sites have independent "bloggers" reviews posted up on their site.
Who should be accountable for paid advertisingreviews then? They are just trying to close the loop holes before they are exploited too heavily.

Do you mean like user reviews or just IGN hiring someone who has a blog as a freelancer to write a review for them?  They clearly have "official" IGN reviews that one would see as IGN, the professional site's, review.  There is a clear difference between an "official" review and just something someone posts in comments for example.

Who's to stop someone from posing a user review on Amazon.com that's complete bullshit?  Who's to stop someone who worked on the game itself from creating phoney user reviews?  What level of policing are we going to take this to?  I can understand why this would make sense for professional sites but any idiot can create a blog and post a review.  How can anyone keep track of that?  There will always be a loop hole.  I think reviews on professional sites that any old joe can't just add (ie: user reviews) is all that would need to be covered.  Nobody else is a journalist and only an idiot would regard them as such.  It's the internet equivalent of Homer Simpson checking the job postings in the gag paper from the county fair.

The sheer scope of work required to regulate blogs is such that I'm quite certain that whoever decided to include blogs is some 60 year old geezer who has no idea what a blog even is.

Buying a game based on a review from a blogger is as "buyer beware" as making a purchase descision based on a user review or comments on a forum or some random guy who happens to be at Gamestop at the same time you are saying "that's a good game".

[UncleBob]

So, let's say I'm a blogger who lives in Mexico but posts on a site based in the US... do I have to disclose anything?

Now, let's say I'm a blogger who lives in California but posts on a site based in France... do I have to disclose anything?

[broodwars]

So, let's say I'm a blogger who lives in Mexico but posts on a site based in the US... do I have to disclose anything?

Now, let's say I'm a blogger who lives in California but posts on a site based in France... do I have to disclose anything?

Or to use a more immediate example, does Greg have to disclose anything when he reviews for this site?  If he doesn't, is the FTC planning on somehow fining him despite him being a UK citizen?  What a laughable concept, like the the FTC has some sort of jurisdiction on the internet.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Vigorously.

[ShyGuy]

Ill thought out, toothless legislation that costs money and is only abused. Just what the internet ordered. Every game review could require disclosure that they got the game for free from the publisher.

[Dirk Temporo]

So this is only in effect for independent bloggers and not sites like IGN and Gamespot?

[bustin98]

Is 'blog' even defined? If I post a review here in the forums am I free from disclosure, but put it on my own specific 'blog' and I'm in trouble? Or what if I post a review on the site that isn't a blog? Do I have to call myself a blogger before the rules take effect?

Lame-o. FTC has continued to fail at what they do ever since the 80s when they shut down the cartoon-toy commercials for boys' action figures.

[KDR_11k]

Seems to apply to professional websites even more than blogs. Probably funny to see IGN list all the freebies they got for reviewing something.

[S-U-P-E-R]

kill all game journalists

[ThePerm]

send them swag copies of Polybius

[mac<censored>]

I dunno, whether or not it's useful, this rule doesn't seem particularly draconian either -- and surely such disclosure is something readers would be interested in.

Since 99.9% of bloggers/forum-posters/blah/blah don't receive anything in return, it won't affect them.   Those rare exceptions who do receive something can just put "Disclosure: received free game from CrappyGamesInc plus blowjob from desperate marketing manager" at the end of their review.

Seems simple and fair to me...

[Not that it's enforceable for the most part...]

[NWR_insanolord]

Yeah, this is a good idea in theory but I don't know how practical it is in terms of enforcing it.

[bustin98]

Most of what this ruling stems from is mommy bloggers who write about the products they use in the house. It started out to be a good thing, but then the companies got wise and started sending out free stuff in exchange for favorable write-ups. Once word got out of what was happenning the community had a fit and went off to 'fix' it. And here we are today. Gamers probably don't compain at all, unless you're reading Gamespot.