I already have a “Consumer Notice” in my sidebar. Check it out.

I suggest that all marketing will be pushed by ppc networks, ad networks, and FTC to have an affiliate (review) website that adds value to the product purchase (much content. It also must have good quality score and mid/high PR Linkbacks and out going links.

“Legally compliant” is the keyword. If the FTC dictates a rule for websites, and that rule is not applied to a certain website, then that site is not legally compliant.

If the OFT isn’t yet regulating websites, then you’re lucky not to be bothered with this just yet, as long as your business and business associations originate outside the US.

As to how far this rule might reach, as pertains to foreign based companies doing internet business in the US, is not completely clear yet, but you do raise some interesting questions that highlight just how complicated a matter this is.

On the other hand, maybe it isn’t that complicated…I just remembered something.

Addressing the general readership now…

When we consider that it was The United States government that developed the internet for its own use, and generously opened it up to the general public, and later approved it for commercial purposes, we have to allow that they also have the right to regulate it. Even to shut it back down again, should it ever come to that. That, as well as the fact that government is just now stepping into the arena in question, and, so far at least, only for the purpose of public protection is worthy of a little reflection.

Of course, other countries have now developed their own systems and markets, so in the event of US regulations interfering too much with outside businesses, their citizens can simply revert to those markets.

We all tend to blame the government for everything we perceive as interference – and believe me, I’m screaming in protest at our federal government’s current extreme liberal agenda even as I write – but the office of the FTC came about because of an overwhelming need to protect consumers from predatory practices that were running rampant at that time…(have they ever not been)? It was a moral imperative that the government do something to stop the preying on our most vulnerable and susceptible citizens, the old, and the poor.

In fact, doing so is mandated by our Constitution in the opening paragraph where it states the reasons for the union’s charter and the foundation of its governing law, the Constitution itself, “to…establish justice…promote the general welfare.”

There is no more important way to promote justice and general welfare of a people than to protect the most vulnerable from predators.

So it is not the government that is at fault in wanting to set parameters for affiliate marketing practices. It is the fault of the predators that have ruined for honest people every field of endeavor ever known to mankind.

Therefore, I’m thankful if a simple disclaimer is all that’s being required. I would certainly rather do without it, but it is minimally invasive, and seems fair enough to me.

The problem of protection, of course, is the never-ending battle of where to draw the line of protection for a reasonably intelligent, adult public. Unfortunately, the loudest “mouths,” the ones that never shut up with the ridiculous rhetoric, are at either extreme, when common sense tells us that somewhere in the middle, where the most people gain the greatest benefit from the least amount of regulation, is where policy should be made

Found this recommended on the warriorforum and Michael’s howtocorp forum. Have not tried it myself tho:
http://www.easyriver.com/free_disclaimer.htm

Yeah, it can be much more trouble than it’s worth, but I appreciate Arindam letting us know it’s coming.

But in the meantime, if anybody wants to offer ME a laptop, a cruise or $3000 to write a blog post for them, PLEASE let me know

Honestly … let me know!

Arindam

However, the FTC is notoriously understaffed and underfunded, so even though I don’t think it’s a publicity stunt it’s going to be hard for them to really execute on it.

And if they do execute on it and go after legit bloggers while ignoring the thousands of more notorious scams going on I think it will end up as a huge embarrassment for them if that fact gets out to the general public which I’m sure it would.

A couple of resources I didn’t see mentioned et:

DisclosurePolicy.org which has a disclosure policy generator.

and

FTC policy statement on deception which is a good starting place for learning how the FTC thinks about deception before moving onto their guidelines in specific areas.