The Internet Advertising Bureau has come out against an FTC proposal for new rules that would force bloggers to disclose advertisers and other affiliations.
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) is opposing new rules proposed by the FTC that would force bloggers to disclose their associations.
IAB president and CEO Randall Rothenberg wrote:
“What concerns us the most in these revisions is that the Internet, the cheapest, most widely accessible communications medium ever invented, would have less freedom than other media … These revisions are punitive to the online world and unfairly distinguish between the same speech, based on the medium in which it is delivered. The practices have long been afforded strong First Amendment protections in traditional media outlets, but the Commission is saying that the same speech deserves fewer Constitutional protections online.”
Here’s what the FTC had to say about the reason behind their proposed rules:
“The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that ‘material connections’ (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers–connections that consumers would not expect–must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other ‘word-of-mouth’ marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”
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You can just feel now the mainstream news companies are seething mad about their fall from prominence. I read that the highest rated cable news show today would be considered a dismal failure back before the 24 hour news stations were around. Now add in the Internet, and they can’t get everyone’s attention and it’s driving them to pressure the FTC. That, plus politicians don’t like it when their opponents make fake “grassroots” websites attacking them, and readers don’t know it’s a fake political ploy.