Disclosure and the FTC

You’re a blogger, not a lawyer, and chances are, you can’t afford a legal team to create a formal disclosure for you. Nor do you want to unintentionally catch the eye of the FTC for violating their amended policies. How do these policies affect you, and how can you protect yourself?

Understanding the FTC Amendments:

The FTC’s amended guidelines are designed to protect consumers from misleading marketing practices, and require bloggers to disclose any material compensation that they have received for the writing of a review – whether that compensation is monetary or in the form of free product for review (likewise, if you receive free travel or lodging, sponsorship or advertising dollars for your blog, from any of the companies whose products or services you review).

Be Informed.

You can download the current FTC Guidelines here. Setting a Google Alert or scanning the news periodically is a great way to keep yourself up to date on any further changes or news surrounding these amendments.

Keep It Simple.

The easiest way to keep yourself out of any grey areas is to simply disclose any connections that you have with the product you’re reviewing. As I previously wrote, often times, free product or interaction can actually add to, rather than take away from, your story. If you received compensation, include a footnote that outlines that.

CYA.

Including a blanket disclosure policy on your About Me or Bio page is a great way to protect yourself and your blog from an unintentional oversight. DisclosurePolicy.org provides a free tool to create your own personalized disclosure policy.