FTC Rules: Sernovitz vs. Gillmor
Sernovitz: FTC rules are great for marketers; http://j.mp/FoIR4 vs. Gillmor: Government gone wild; http://j.mp/1WVbve
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Gerrit Eicker
The Net, the World, the Mess
Jarvis: The net is the world and the world is messy and I do not want anyone to clean it up for me; http://j.mp/KvOGE
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Gerrit Eicker
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Gerrit Eicker
NYT: “The F.T.C. said that beginning on Dec. 1, bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers, including, in most cases, the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid in any way by advertisers, as occurs frequently. The new rules also take aim at celebrities, who will now need to disclose any ties to companies, should they promote products on a talk show or on Twitter. A second major change, which was not aimed specifically at bloggers or social media, was to eliminate the ability of advertisers to gush about results that differ from what is typical — for instance, from a weight loss supplement. – For bloggers who review products, this means that the days of an unimpeded flow of giveaways may be over. More broadly, the move suggests that the government is intent on bringing to bear on the Internet the same sorts of regulations that have governed other forms of media, like television or print. – ‘It crushes the idea that the Internet is separate from the kinds of concerns that have been attached to previous media,’ said Clay Shirky, a professor at New York University.“
Gerrit Eicker
Chinese Web Censorship: Back Again
The Chinese government has quietly begun preventing access to Web sites again, e.g. the BBC; http://is.gd/c0eT
Gerrit Eicker
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo for Free Speech
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo agreed upon principles regarding countries that restrict free speech; http://is.gd/55RL
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Gerrit Eicker
Forbes: “The initiative aims to protect free speech and user privacy, say company representatives. It also aims to deflect efforts by either the private sector or the U.S. Congress to impose their own standards on companies. – The plan offers three building blocks: a set of principles that its signatories endorse, practices that the companies pledge to implement internally that will describe how they handle requests for information from governments and an auditing mechanism that will give independent auditors – including specialists in human rights – a chance to peek inside companies and ensure they are complying with the program.”
Jarvis: “The Federal Trade Commission just released rules to regulate product endorsements not just in advertisements but also on blogs. (PDF here; the regs don’t start until page 55.) … It is a monument to unintended consequence, hidden dangers, and dangerous assumptions. – Mind you, I hate one of its apparent targets: Pay Per Post and its ilk, which attempt to co-opt the voice of bloggers. But I hate government regulation of speech more. … And there is the greatest myth embedded within the FTC’s rules: that the government can and should sanitize the internet for our protection. The internet is the world and the world is messy and I don’t want anyone – not the government, not a newspaper editor – to clean it up for me, for I fear what will go out in the garbage: namely, my rights.”
TC: “Today, the Federal Trade Commission made good on its threat promise to change the way it regulates endorsements from bloggers by releasing its final revisions to the guidance it gives advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act. … This amendment marks the first time in 27 years since The Guides were last updated in 1980. … As a result of the evolving level of influence inherent in the social Web, and web in general, the notice incorporates several amendments to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in advertising and blogging, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. Fines for violating the new rule will run up to $11,000 per incident. … Since the FTC is reviewing incidents on a case-by-case basis, perhaps they will eventually realize the clear division between editorial and advertorial regardless of platform. The difference between endorsement and individual experience should be discernible in the intent of the arrangement between brand and writer. – In the meantime, brands and bloggers can only benefit from disclosing the nature of endorsements. In the realm of new media, transparency and ethics speak louder than the value proposition of the product itself.“