FTC guidelines for food bloggers

There’s nothing like poring over a heavily-footnoted article in the New York Bar Association newsletter. Several times.

What does this have to do with food writing? Glad you asked.

Food writer Rebecca Lang, whose husband is an attorney, sent me an article he gave her called, “The FTC’s Revised Endorsement Guides Impact How Companies Can Advertise Through Social Media.” It outlines endorsement guidelines for bloggers from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

I’m so glad she did, because I had not seen this interpretation on accepting goods, money, or affiliations (where you get a percentage of sales) in exchange for a post, mention or a link. It’s good timing for food bloggers who want to “monetize” their blogs, a growing concern according to a recent Foodista survey.

I wrote my original post on disclosure in 2009, but back then the rules were rather vague. Now lawyer Laura Sack has written about the updated FTC guidelines, which make sense as best practices. So if you’re a blogger who writes reviews, participates in an affiliate program, or gets paid to mention a product, here’s what it says:

1. The FTC can fine both the blogger and the company for not disclosing [Read more…] about New FTC Rules on Writing Reviews, Affiliations, and Sponsored Posts