Regulating Social Media — Slippery Slope?
Recently, the New York Times posted a story on the new FTC regulations that as of December 1, 2009, require bloggers who review products to disclose any connection with advertisers, including receipt of free products or payment in any way. In advancing this rule, the FTC stated that this practice frequently occurs and can be deceiving to the public.
According to the New York Times, “the move suggests that the government is intent on bringing to bear on the Internet the same sorts of regulations that have governed other forms of media, like television or print.” The FTC argues that they were “looking and seeing the significance of social media marketing in the 21st century and thought it was time to explain the principles of transparency and truth in advertising and apply them to social media marketing. Which isn’t to say that we saw a huge problem out there that was imperative to address.”
The question this raises in my mind is where this leads. Does this begin an onslaught of regulation into the use of social media. Does this invite further regulation as to what a person can include on his or her Facebook page. How do you properly disclose potential issues in a 140 character Tweet? While this regulation in isolation may not be extremely significant or onerous, it definitely signals a future of regulation in the social media world.
Let me know what you think.