Sponsored Blog: FTC Guidelines for Sponsored Blogs a Great Idea
The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on bloggers who are paid to write favorable reviews. In a blog sponsored by the FTC, we explain why this is a fantastic idea.
The U.S. government wants to see less misleading use of sponsored stories within the blogosphere. As such, the Federal Trade Commission is preparing to release a new set of guidelines for bloggers that’ll restrict their ability to accept payments in exchange for positive reviews.
The idea, of course, is to protect readers: When you read a positive story about a product or service, you should know that the writer really felt the way he indicated — not that some company or agency paid him off to act as a spineless salesperson. If the writer is receiving compensation for his “thoughts,” clearly his views will be influenced and not unbiased.
The FTC couldn’t be more right-on with this. Any blogger who accepts external compensation for writing a story clearly has low morals and, quite frankly, a flawed character. He’s also probably not too bright. Why else would he trade the power of his word for a pathetic paycheck?
The Federal Trade Commission knows what it’s doing here. The folks running that agency are among our nation’s best and brightest, and no one is more qualified to handle such an important and overdue change. Let’s stop with the misleading sponsored stories, and start following the requests of the United States’ most effective government agency.
(This story has been sponsored by the United States Federal Trade Commission.)
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