In the EU, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, passed in 2007 and brought into force in the UK in 2008, makes the practice of astro-turfing - "companies posing as consumers on fake blogs, providing fake testimonies on consumer rating websites such as TripAdvisor, or writing fake book reviews on Amazon" illegal, with those caught risking criminal or civil liability.
In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission issued new rules on Monday which require bloggers to disclose that they've been paid for endorsements or reviews. "The revised guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement," the FTC said in a release. "Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."
What's this all mean? Well, I'm not a solicitor and you should seek proper legal advice rather than taking my word for it, but I reckon it means that if you're paying someone to blog or post something on a social networking service, they need to be transparent about who they're working for, otherwise you'd risk breaking the law. Branded corporate blogs are unlikely to be affected since it's fairly obvious that they're company owned and employee staffed, but if you're setting up off-piste, and not declaring a corporate link, you'd be wise to think again.
When it comes to social networking and blogging, people have long expected those who represent businesses and other organisations to be transparent about who they are and who they represent, and to declare when money has changed hands. Failing to do so destroys trust and, in the EU and USA, might fall foul of the law.
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