I’ve been writing posts this morning at forums and blogs with some IMPORTANT updates about the FTC guidelines issue and then realized I should probably cover this NEW info on my own blog as well.

I blogged about the new FTC Guidelines as soon as the story broke, but in case you aren’t aware of the situation – it’s been WIDELY reported that the FTC will leverage fines up to $11,000 per violation of their new testimonial and endorsement guidelines which target bloggers and other word-of-mouth marketers. (IMO this includes affiliates.)

Here’s one story: FTC Values Sponsored Conversations at $11,000 Apiece

Here’s the overview from the FTC, which I could swear also mentioned the $11,000 fines but now it’s gone. FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

NEW INFO BELOW – THEY RETRACT THE FACT THEY’LL BE FINING $11,000

FTC Responds to Blogger Fears: “That $11,000 Fine Is Not True”

“That $11,000 fine is not true. Worst-case scenario, someone receives a warning, refuses to comply, followed by a serious product defect; we would institute a proceeding with a cease-and-desist order and mandate compliance with the law. To the extent that I have seen and heard, people are not objecting to the disclosure requirements but to the fear of penalty if they inadvertently make a mistake.” Read the rest of the FastCompany Interview here.

They also respond to the question HOW do bloggers need to disclose by saying it’s up to us.

“There is some vagueness….The bloggers have to look at how they do their blogging, their business practice, and figure out the way that consumers will best get the message that this is a sponsored post. In terms of clear and conspicuous, the criteria there is that the consumers will notice the disclosure. Disclosures can be made in different ways, whether you make it outside of the text but in proximity to blog, or incorporate it into the blog discussion itself–those are the issues that bloggers will have discretion about.” More…

They also touch on how enforcement will be handled.

So… do you think they are back peddling or do you think all the initial news reports about the fines were wrong?

At any rate, you still need to be careful and disclose, but things are a little more clear now, after reading the FastCompany article.

FYI – Here is a NIFTY little Disclosure Policy Generator you can use.