Regulating Emerging Media Forms: The FTC's Perspective Stacey Ferguson - Staff Attorney - Federal Trade Commission ===== FTC Endorsement and Testimonial Guides and Privacy Issues Social networking sites have developed into a medium for advertisers to reach targeted audiences These guides have existed since 1980 (30 years old!) FTC is not concerned with genuine testimonials or product reviews; if the advertiser is speaking on behalf of the marketer....DISCLOSE The old laws still apply in these new settings; FTC wants "truth in advertising"; these standards apply to all types of marketing, including viral, guerrilla, stealth, blog, etc. What are these guides? THEY ARE NOT LAWS! They are administrative interpretations of the FTC Act which is already in existence; there are *no fines* for violating the Guides. If you violate the guides, you are publicly violating Section 5 of the FTC Act, and you could have an investigation filed against you The endorsement and testimonial guides require discloser of a connection between a seller and an endorser that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (e.g., seller is compensating endorser, endorser is related to seller, endorser is employee or business associate of seller, etc.) If there is a financial tie, DISCLOSE IT! The proposed guidelines require bloggers to disclose not only when they are paid by a company, but when they receive free product as well! To the FTC, it's considered a form of payment. Is it fact-specific? What is the connection between the advertiser and the endorser? What is the expectation of a positive endorsement? Disclosures can be as easy as a simple sentence. Example: I was sent some [insert free product name here] and they were [insert emotion here]! Message boards: employee relationship *must* be disclosed. Advertiser should have policies in place and train its employees regarding acceptable social media practices. How should material connections be effectively discloser? Here are some examples: Example: Acme Co. provided this product for me to review Example: Acme Co. sent me to Acme Land to experience the new Acme Rollercoaster On Twitter or Facebook? Use hashtags! (e.g., #paid, #ad, #sponsor, etc.) You shouldn't have just a page on your blog because if your content is syndicated, it might not show that you have disclosed the endorsement. Tijuana - What is the most common law broken? A: That's a hard question. April - Do you have to assume that they have disclosed if it *sounds* like an endorsement? A: The FTC takes an objective stance. *** Lawyer (Stacey Ferguson) vs. Lawyer (Gina McCauley) *** Ferguson states that FTC is not looking at *every* blog to see who discloses and who doesn't; online prominence dictates who the FTC goes after. It's up to the larger companies to monitor and create policies. Mark - suggests that citizens "drop a dime" to the FTC about violations -- citizen snooping? Privacy concerns raised by social media: Targeted advertising, opting in/out, etc. Consumers have a right to know when they are being pitched a product; material connections must be disclosed ; know your target audience and tailor your disclosures appropriately. Someone suggests that there should be an exemption to the guides for small businesses; also suggests regulations should apply depending on the blog size Ferguson claims that small businesses actually have *more* reach than larger companies, and this is why they are not exempt (huh?) Questions? (I know you have 'em.) - Stacey Ferguson (sferguson@ftc.gov)