On December 1st, 2009, the FTC will be enforcing their new internet policy regarding endorsments and testimonials. Essentially, the document states that website publishers must disclose affiliations and payments in a clear manner when reviewing or endorsing products. The document is still sketchy to many publishers (including me) and I would suggest reading it for yourself to get a better understanding of it.
Since this document has not been updated since 1980, it’s sure to send publishers into a tailspin over how to deal with on their websites to avoid fines and possibly even jail time!
I, for one, am not so big into product endorsements, but rather post informational content (i.e. recipes, home & garden tips, candle-making tips) as well as provide WordPress themes for users on various sites. However, I’m still shaking in my boots over just how careful I need to be about the links on my sites, and have just created an external links policy plugin for WordPress to add to my sites because so many people leave comments with links to other sites.
Grab it here for free for your own site if you like:
See an example of the page it creates on this site here.
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