So yeah, now the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is mandating that all bloggers, when endorsing a product or service and is paid to do so must clearly state it on his/her blog.
Of course, this is only common sense. Why would you want to lie to your readers? If you disclose that you were paid to endorse a product, people will completely take your review in a different way. You also have to disclose if the product is free. Again, common sense. So now, the FCC is actually making us tell the truth and not lie to our readers. Tyranny! My freedom of lying is ruined!
So now, let's take a step back and remember, as bloggers, we have the responsibility to tell the truth. The truth that I am paid to say and the truth that I am not have completely different meanings. Without payment, my review is unadulterated and completely mine -- not like a paid review, where one would feel pressured to say only positive (or negative) things about the product or service because you want the money.
Just so you all know: the FCC, is no way, shape, or form, asked or paid me to endorse or review this.
1 comment:
It wasn't the FCC, it appears to have been the FTC, according to the New York Times. I wonder if it applies to commercial bloggers, or to just everyone who says anything anywhere. I wonder if there's a first amendment challenge to this coming up. (I certainly would expect the ACLU to champion this, they're not busy defending the second or tenth amendments any more.)
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