by Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media
Is your website a breeding ground for a lawsuit? I am sure that your home and landing pages undergo much heavier scrutiny that your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. But even though you don't may much attention to this, website visitors, privacy advocates and government agencies do pay attention.
Last week we looked at the Privacy Policy and the Customer Agreement and their uses. This week we are going to look at relationships and the need for a Disclosure Policy.
If you engage in advertising or endorsements, recently revised FTC guidelines recommend that you reveal those relationships in a document referred to as the FTC Guides Disclosure Policy.
Bloggers, book reviewers, affiliate program participants, etc. who receive cash, free or discounted products, or other in-kind compensation for reviews and endorsements need to familiarize themselves with the new guidelines located at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf.
In a nutshell, it states that endorsers who indicate they have used a product or service "must be real users in the time the endorsement was given." These advertisements should end when the endorser is no longer a user.
Both advertisers and endorsers are liable so, when in doubt, you should err on the side of caution.
Next week we will look at what is at stake without the proper documentation.
Is your website a breeding ground for a lawsuit? I am sure that your home and landing pages undergo much heavier scrutiny that your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. But even though you don't may much attention to this, website visitors, privacy advocates and government agencies do pay attention.
Last week we looked at the Privacy Policy and the Customer Agreement and their uses. This week we are going to look at relationships and the need for a Disclosure Policy.
If you engage in advertising or endorsements, recently revised FTC guidelines recommend that you reveal those relationships in a document referred to as the FTC Guides Disclosure Policy.
Bloggers, book reviewers, affiliate program participants, etc. who receive cash, free or discounted products, or other in-kind compensation for reviews and endorsements need to familiarize themselves with the new guidelines located at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf.
In a nutshell, it states that endorsers who indicate they have used a product or service "must be real users in the time the endorsement was given." These advertisements should end when the endorser is no longer a user.
Both advertisers and endorsers are liable so, when in doubt, you should err on the side of caution.
Next week we will look at what is at stake without the proper documentation.
