New FTC Regulations: FTC Cracks Down on Bloggers. Silly Place to Start

Image courtesy CarolyMain.com

So, the F.T.C. has officially declared that starting in December, Bloggers who review products have to disclose any connection with advertisers, including, the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid by advertisers.

But guess what, Smartypanties has always been honest and always discloses when products were received for review(Like here and here for example!). Not that you probably didn’t assume so already. I mean, dude, it’s the one perk I get from pouring my true and professional opinions into this website. But these laws won’t just be aimed at moi.

The new rules also hit celebs, who now need to disclose any ties to companies, like when they obnoxiously hock their hair and beauty products during interviews or on Twitter. At least if bloggers are going down, Kim Kardashian is going too!

The stab from the FTC suggests that the gov is intent on putting the Internet under the same regulations that have governed other forms of media, like television or print. I happen to think full disclosure is a great idea and there are definitely bloggers out there who are very dishonest but it’s just an odd place to start.

What you should know: I’m not sure how many of you know what goes on in the magazine world that seems to be quickly tanking but not only do they receive products for free but they’re sent products from the Beauty Giants in Gucci bags. No joke a friend in the magazine business told us.

The blogosphere seems a silly place to start considering at least people know to take strangers opinions with a grain of salt (bloggers I mean) versus a magazine, which technically should be an unbiased objective opinion but clearly is highly biased since their underpaid, overworked employees get far more swag free from Advertisers than me and my fellow bloggers.

But just so you know, I have never and will never accept money to write a post about a product or clothing line. I want my opinion to remain…hmm how shall I put this….HONEST. If you know anything about blogging, you don’t go into it for the money or the free goods because trust me, the hard work we do is not worth a bottle of nail polish at the end of the day. It’s the love of the game.

Don’t hate the playa, hate the FTC.