Hello, my name is Sandra and I am proud to be a Professional Virtual Assistant! I have worked in the Virtual Assisting Industry as an independent VA and through a Virtual Staffing Agency (VSA). I have done Sales and Customer Service for a VSA and I have been a client with a VA Team of my own. I've seen it from every angle! I have developed a passion not only for this industry but also for mentoring and training women who want to have successful VA Businesses.
Here’s the Scoop - FTC Regs for the Blogosphere
If you have a blog, work on a client’s blog, or do any kind of affiliate marketing - here is the lowdown on the FTC’s new regulations.
The best description I have read was on Web2.0 Blog:
“Under the new rules, bloggers who endorse a product or service and fail to disclose to readers that they were somehow compensated for that endorsement can be fined up to $11,000. They can also be held liable for damages to individual consumers who decide to sue them over the matter. The regulations are called the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials. This is the first time since 1980 that they have been updated.”
In a nutshell, if you receive any kind of compensation whether its money, free products or anything else you can think of, you need to disclose it. Apparently, the new regs aren’t so much actual rules but rather guidelines. The bloggers I have read think this is so they can evaluate on a case-by-case basis. That kinda worries me, seems like the person with the most money (and therefore the best attorney) will win. But then again, it’s probably only these big time bloggers and affiliate marketers who need to be worried.
That being said, I think this is ultimately good for all concerned. Transparency is a good thing as it adds credibility. This move has been anticipated in the blogosphere for a while and most of the better-known and more professional blogs have already implemented disclosure policies - not so much because this was coming but because it’s the right thing to do. And from what I have gathered, they haven’t suffered because of it.
It will be interesting to watch, however. How will the FTC monitor all the small blogs who regularly receive freebies? And what about blogs based outside of the US? Will US hosting companies have to monitor the sites of their customers who are based outside of the US? Will they have to comply because their host is in the US?
For further reading (in case you can’t sleep) here is a press release from the FTC.
And if you still can’t sleep here are the actual regs.
What does this really mean?
Use Your Common Sense.
Disclose in your posts and have a legal policies page.
Document what you receive.
But hey, that’s all stuff you should be doing anyway, right?
Right!
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