Effective today, December 1, 2009 – FTC publishes final guides governing endorsements and testimonials on blogs, affiliate sites, web sites etc. Not knowing is not considered an excuse by the FTC.
exerpts:
1 ….advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect.
2…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.
3….the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers.