I must be alone on the FTC Regulations
The FTC updated its regulations on endorsements and “material connections” and it has the whole blogosphere plotting the end of the world as we know it. Freedom of speech will be suppressed, you’ll lose your rights, the FBI will come and arrest me for not saying I was given that iPhone app to review for free. I don’t buy it. I think like most things the government tries to do, the new regulations are inherently good, but flawed in their current implementation. From my reading of posts it seems there are three or so main issues bloggers are taking fault with: Inequality, scope, and true ability to enforce.
For one, magazines and other old world publications and mediums are not covered as much as the internet. So David Pogue doesn’t need to mention that he gets stuff for free, but Engadget does. That pisses bloggers off, as it rightfully should. Just because Pogue writes for old media does make his basic job of reviewing apps and offering a yea or a nay is any different than Engadget or any number of other technology blogs out there. This isn’t something new though, blogs have also been the bastard child of media. Just look at the current shield law bill in the Senate, it does not include bloggers under the protection for the supposed reason that if bloggers were included everyone could claim protection under the shield law and no one could be forced to answer on where they got their information.
That brings us to scope, where exactly do we draw the line of disclosure? Do we have to go back and redo posts to disclosure connections? What about contextual advertising, if we endorse something because of good experiences and that brings in ads based on the content and we make money do we have to disclose that? This issue of scope stems from the regulations lack of definition, of which lawmakers are experts at.
Lastly, ability to enforce. If Tiger Woods says he’d buy a Buick and now has to be truthful and mean what he says, does the government need to look in his garage to see if a Lacrosse is parked in it? Will the FBI raid my apartment if I don’t disclose I got a 99 cent iPhone app for free testing?1 Again we back to parliamentary debating because the regulations aren’t totally clear.
This kind of reaction tends to happen every time something new is unveiled in government, even though the regulations will probably not affect a lot of bloggers in the long run. Most bloggers currently work under the belief of disclosing connections, and the FTC obviously doesn’t have the time to monitor everyone’s blog or twitter conversations. And of course the FBI isn’t going to come take you away because of the new regulations. Well if bloggers understand the importance of disclosure why do we need the regulations that can’t be enforced? For the same reason we have seat belt laws. Just because a majority of Americans understand the importance of seat belts and use them do we not need regulations that are hard to enforce?2 I’d be willing to bet these regulations and checking to ensure they are upheld is if someone complains to the FTC, and they investigate and find serious disclosure issues.
I’m all for the FTC ensuring that the reviews we read are legit and everything is kosher, but that doesn’t mean the FTC can leave the rules in place as it, they need a good clarifying before I’ll be happy. Furthermore, I’m not saying we should sit down and shut up about regulations, just the opposite, we should make our opinions clear on anything that could impact us, that’s why we have free speech. Just realize that a lot of the posts going around the Internet are undoubtedly over blowing the reach of these regulations and the impact they will have on people like you and me.
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