FTC Cracks Down on Blogger Payola, Celebrity Tweets†

Rules on Endorsements and Testimonials Extended to Social Media

Advertising Age, October 5, 2009 — The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on blogger payola.

The agency, which protects consumers from fraud or deceptive business practices, voted 4 to 0 to update its rules governing endorsements, and the new guidelines require bloggers to clearly disclose any "material connection" to an advertiser, including payments for an endorsement or free product.