Blown To Bits

The FTC Decides to Regulate Bloggers

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by Harry Lewis
People buy synthroid without prescription with joint pain should contact a doctor if the skin amoxicillin prescription around the joint feels swollen and hot or if they estrace vendors feel unwell and have a fever. However, most manufacturers use estradiol valerate sale easy-clean materials, meaning a person can wipe the blanket with cheap clonidine in usa a cloth. A co-activation ratio describes how two muscles activate generic overnight delivery simultaneously, and a relatively equal ratio is considered ideal. However, diovan sale most ACL injuries do not involve direct contact, which suggests buy dexamethasone online that prevention training programs can help decrease injury risk. Previous discount serevent research suggests that acupuncture is comparable to nonsteroidalanti-inflammatory drugs for online pharmacy atarax managing pain. People can check whether their insurance policy will cover.

We have a very well-intentioned initiative from the Federal Trade Commission to require people who blog about a product reveal if they have a financial interest in the product’s success. No phony “product reviews,” for example, written by people who are being paid by the manufacturer.

This is a classic case of that with which the road to hell is paved. The FTC is attempting to translate conventions used in TV and print into a very different medium. There are so many edge cases to consider. What about a 14 year old blogger raving about a skateboard her daddy brought home from the company where he works? What about a book reviewer who reviews a book he was given to review (as reviewers invariably are)? What about just mentioning that you are drinking a Coke when your brother-in-law works for the Coca-Cola company? What about tweets–do you have to include your disclosure in the 140 word limit (the FTC commissioner apparently thinks that might be possible).

And the big question: Is this really a role we want for government?

Many good blog posts on this. I recommend Dan Gillmor’s, and those to which he points. Dan proposes that the FTC just doesn’t understand the Web.

Comments are closed.