"The FTC recently amended its Guides Concerning the Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the Guides), which
address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and
celebrities in advertising. The amendments, which took effect on
December 1, 2009, clarify among other things how the Guides
apply in the context of social and other new media.
The amendments to the Guides add examples to illustrate how the
longstanding requirements that material connections
(e.g, compensation arrangements) between advertisers and consumer
endorsers must be disclosed. Under the Guides, a material
connection is one that consumers generally would not expect and
that may affect the credibility or weight of the endorsement.
In determining whether a disclosure is required, the threshold
issue is whether an endorsement was made. If a blogger was paid
to blog about the marketers product, the bloggers favorable blog
posts concerning the product will likely be considered an
endorsement under the Guides."