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Taking aim at companies that were arranging paid recommendations from bloggers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated its regulations for digital advertising, including blogs, in 2013. The rule (found at www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-staff-revises-online-advertising-disclosure-guidelines/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf) and guidelines (at www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/native-advertising-guide-businesses) require bloggers to disclose whether they’ve received any type of payment or free products in exchange for a positive review. For more information, see https://amylynnandrews.com/how-to-disclose-affiliate-links.

The rule doesn’t appear to apply to individuals who post a review on public review sites (such as TripAdvisor or Yelp), but it applies if you review other companies’ products on your blog or send products to other bloggers to request a review.

You can find out more about this requirement from the disclosure resources listed in Table 4-4. Some bloggers, offended by the rules, have found humorous or sarcastic ways to comply. Others, such as The Review Stew (www.thereviewstew.com/p/disclosures.html), whose blog appears in Figure 4-7, are simply matter-of-fact about it.

TABLE 4-4 Legal Resource Sites

Name	URL	Description
American Bar Association	www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/resources.html	Intellectual property resource lists
DisclosurePolicy	http://disclosurepolicy.org	Generate free disclosure policies
Electronic Frontier Foundation	www.eff.org	Not-for-profit focused on free speech, privacy, and consumer rights
Federal Trade Commission	www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-staff-revises-online-advertising-disclosure-guidelines/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf	Federal guidelines for digital media disclosure
FindLaw	http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/intellectual-property.html	Intellectual property resources
International Technology Law Association	www.itechlaw.org/ask-itech	Online legal issues
PublicLegal from the Internet Legal Research Group	www.ilrg.com	Index of legal sites, free forms, and documents
Nolo	www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ecommerce-website-development	Online legal issues
Social Media Examiner	www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ftc-2013-disclosures	Article titled “What Marketers Need to Know about the New FTC Disclosures”
U.S. Copyright Office	www.copyright.gov	Copyright information and submission
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office	www.uspto.gov	Patent and trademark information, databases, and submission

Regardless of what you think of the policy, reveal any payments or free promotional products you’ve received. You can, of course, be as clever, funny, cynical, or straightforward as you want. Feeling lazy? Model a policy after the ones found at www.firmplay.com/social-media-policy/examples.

Courtesy of www.thereviewstew.com

FIGURE 4-7: This blogger sets out a clear acknowledgment policy on product endorsement.