In a recent report by the Associated Press, the Federal Trade Commission is slated to approve new guidelines that would clarify that they can go after bloggers who accept free gifts for posting endorsing blogs for products from companies who seek to benefit from the positive blogs. In some cases, bloggers have accepted free laptops, trips to Europe, gift cards, and even thousands of dollars (and I'm sure a lot more) in exchange for hyping a product from a company.
This brings to mind an experience I had recently with researching a product online which I was interested in purchasing. Talk about confusion! One review (blog) would rant on praising the product, stating that they would act a fool to not be without, and another would swear that if you purchased it that it would set into motion the Rapture. Personally, I don't mind the FTC sticking their nose in where "sponsored" bloggers are creating more confusion than they do information- after all, those bloggers are getting away with tax-free products and services the rest of us pay taxes on. At the same time, it unnerves me to think that the FTC has their foot in the door to perhaps introduce more internet restrictions in the future.
I think I'll stick to perk-free blogging for now.