This uptick in celebrities peddling brand messages on their personal accounts, light on explicit disclosure, has not gone unnoticed by the U.S. government. The Federal Trade Commission is planning to get tougher: Users need to be clear when they’re getting paid to promote something, and hashtags like #ad, #sp, #sponsored –common forms of identification– are not always enough. The agency will be putting the onus on the advertisers to make sure they comply, according to Michael Ostheimer, a deputy in the FTC’s Ad Practices Division. It’s a move that could make the posts seem less authentic, reducing their impact.
“We’ve been interested in deceptive endorsements for decades and this is a new way in which they are appearing,” he said. “We believe consumers put stock in endorsements and we want to make sure they are not being deceived.”
Great news. Bloggers have been required to disclose any payment, freebies, travel, gifts from companies for years. Members of the press have had requirements for decades.
I honestly can’t imagine that anyone would believe a celebrity would mention a product without being paid to do so but if there are idiots out there that believe a rapper really loves a specific kind of Vodka enough to post a photo of the bottle, this law should help clear things up. #Advertisement on these photos before the post should be sufficient.
This and the click-bait squashing by Facebook makes this one of the best news-Fridays I’ve ever had.