Worth Sharing!

I feel that posting this may violate some of the mentioned issues, oh well :)
Be careful in this ever changing world in which we live in. I certainly thank Dr. Rutledge and Mr. Hua for this service:

Here is an important message from our legal department to tell you about new federal regulations that went into effect this month. We want to help you understand how these new regulations could affect you as a blogger on health topics.

“We are writing to let you know about revised Guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on October 5, 2009 relating to endorsement and testimonial advertising. These new Guidelines go into effect on December 1, and reflect the FTC’s interpretation with respect to federal law relating to advertising. These new Guidelines specifically apply to bloggers and could impose liability on bloggers for endorsements or testimonials.

The revised Guidelines state that:

· The Guidelines apply to Bloggers and online word-of-mouth marketers and require them to disclose any material connection to a company when reviewing the company’s products or services (failure to disclose any payment or receipt of free product from an advertiser or someone acting on their behalf could expose you to liability);

· Both advertisers and endorsers can be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement (if you were given a product for free or were paid to write a review, then the claims you make about the product must be accurate and substantiated);

· Advertisements containing consumer endorsements, or testimonials, must disclose what results a reasonable consumer could expect from the product and can no longer rely on a disclaimer that “results may vary”;

The complete revised Guidelines can be found at http://ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf. The FTC has also posted several short videos explaining the Guidelines at http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm.

It is Wellsphere’s policy that bloggers disclose publicly any interest that they have in any topic that they write about. Transparency is critical to your credibility with your readers and to your relationship with Wellsphere. In addition, you must be careful to confirm the accuracy of any statements that you make about a product or service that you are writing about and are responsible for what you write. Please understand that Wellsphere takes compliance with its policies and these Guidelines very seriously and failure to comply may result in the termination of your relationship with Wellsphere. I am happy to answer any questions you have and work with you to address any concerns.”

Have a wonderful day!

Good Health,
Geoff
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Geoffrey Rutledge, MD PhD and David Hua
http://www.wellsphere.com