A new FTC guideline on “endorsements” singles oug blogs for attention. Here are some examples from relevant sections of the FTC’s Endorsement Guides Notice:
…a blogger could receive merchandise from a marketer with a request to review it, but with no compensation paid other than the value of the product itself. In this situation, whether or not any positive statement the blogger posts would be deemed an “endorsement” within the meaning of the Guides would depend on, among other things, the value of that product, and on whether the blogger routinely receives such requests. If that blogger frequently receives products from manufacturers because he or she is known to have wide readership within a particular demographic group that is the manufacturers’ target market, the blogger’s statements are likely to be deemed to be “endorsements,” as are postings by participants in network marketing programs.
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A college student who has earned a reputation as a video game expert maintains a personal weblog or “blog” where he posts entries about his gaming experiences. Readers of his blog frequently seek his opinions about video game hardware and software. As it has done in the past, the manufacturer of a newly released video game system sends the student a free copy of the system and asks him to write about it on his blog. He tests the new gaming system and writes a favorable review. Because his review is disseminated via a form of consumer-generated media in which his relationship to the advertiser is not inherently obvious, readers are unlikely to know that he has received the video game system free of charge in exchange for his review of the product, and given the value of the video game system, this fact likely would materially affect the credibility they attach to his endorsement. Accordingly, the blogger should clearly and conspicuously disclose that he received the gaming system free of charge.
Like many other bloggers (some of whom have already noticed the new guidelines), I have indeed received free copies of books from publishers who anticipated that I would draw attention to them by reviewing them on the blog. I’m not certain I’ve always mentioned this, and I’m thus offering this post as clarification about my blogging about books prior to the release of the new guidelines, and will make a point of mentioning when I’m reviewing a book that I received from a publisher for free. Quite a few of my blog posts about books have been ones that I own or borrowed from the library, and simply had to share.
I should also mention that I participate in the Amazon Associates program, and thus receive a small amount of gift certificate credit for those who reach Amazon through my site and make a purchase there. Since such links are almost always either to books I review or my own books, I suspect that no further disclosure other than the one I’ve provided here is necessary. But having made this last disclosure, I do hope you’ll click through to Amazon and see if there’s something you need! 🙂
This post was not paid for or sponsored by any organization, and the links to other bibliobloggers (especially Jim West) should not be construed as an endorsement of the views expressed on their blogs….
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