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EA and YouTube producers seemingly broke FTC guidelines with Battlefield 4 promotion

HarryKS

HarryKS

Member
Clarkus Darkus said:
Go old school..............play the game yourself instead of watching someone else play it an tell you about it.

Higher you go the more corrupt it gets and doesnt get higher than MS/EA/YT
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C'mon son. How are you going to play the game unless there's a demo? Trying it at someone else's place notwithstanding.
 
P

PBY

Banned
nib95 said:
I was going to say. Otherwise these rules are as good as pointless. How do they get charged then? What is the procedure with which they can be punished regarding this? Because it's quite clear that what they did, did in fact break the rules.
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Not an expert in admin law, but id assume that its up to the FTC to investigate and file complaints on such matters- given that the law in question is their enabling statute.

Anyways- it strikes me as a largely fruitless discussion given our lack of expertise. We went 50 pages going back and forth last time, no one realizing the enforceability of the guides.
 
Hoho for breakfast

Hoho for breakfast

Member
Speedy Blue Dude said:
They aren't rules, they're GUIDES. Companies don't have to follow them, and they didn't.

I didn't know this wasn't illegal, huh. My only issue with Microsoft and EA (and whoever else does this) was that it was "illegal", and now it apparently isn't.
Click to expand...

So you therefore have no issue with this stuff. Excellent.
 
F

faceless007

Member
df5c504d10c538e4c5b88e308206a324ed6c0fcff9e54a3e131fc3c17aff7464.jpg
 
Ardenyal

Ardenyal

Member
These articles are written as if the fact that the youtubers were paid was disclosed... but in reality that wasn't the case. wtf.
 
K

KoopaTheCasual

Junior Member
JABEE said:
This. I think the Polygon article created a bit of confusion about this fact. Microsoft and EA could very well have broken the laws with their promotions. It's just that the guidelines themselves are not the law.

The guidelines are scenarios that the FTC believes to the modern interpretation of the law as it extends to Mommy Bloggers and people who run YouTube channels.
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Does anyone have the applicable laws on hand? I would really like to read into this a bit more, because there has to be some penalty for this. I don't want EA/MS behavior to start a domino effect of these special hidden promotion deals. They're all sorts of scummy.
 
C

Clarkus Darkus

Member
HarryKS said:
C'mon son. How are you going to play the game unless there's a demo? Trying it at someone else's place notwithstanding.
Click to expand...

Actually thats true, Cant believe demo's are a thing of the past, Seems were being funneled into these sort of practices then. And cant say i like it.
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
And does someone that watches FrankieOnPC have the link to the video where he said that isn't paid for this while being paid for this?

Oh it's in the article.
 
S

swcpig

Banned
Untalkative_Bunny said:
If they paid and it wasn't disclosed, yes they did.
Click to expand...

They violated the guidelines and violated the trust of consumers but there isn't likely any legal action to be had. Sort of like cussing on live TV may or may not result in a fine and the FTC review board.

Either way - it's a pretty shitty practice that needs to stop.
 
M

Milennia

Member
eot said:
JackFrags eh? Good to know.
His videos were passed around a lot here.
Click to expand...

Dude still plays the game everyday and posts good videos about it, i don't see why they should stop.
He was obviously going to talk up the game anyway, so i guess he saw it as a win-win, he's been doing battlefield stuff for a while, way before 4.

I will watch much less of them however, as this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, i don't like fake people.
 
S

Sendero

Member
Thread title needs to be changed then.
Bet people are already compiling a list of those >1 millon suscribers BF4 channels.


What I'm really interested (and main point here), is the real scope of FTC regarding sponsorship. Are there no rules whatsoever that enforce the disclosure of these practices in any medium? Or just youtube/on-line videos?


What about web sites.. you know.. Review sites?
 
X

Xater

Member
This is very disgusting. Only guy I somewhat follow on Youtube is TB and that's it. From what I know some of those guys are very popular though. Really this whole thing is not ok and it's a shame that the FTC is apparently toothless.

benny_a said:
And does someone that watches FrankieOnPC have the link to the video where he said that isn't paid for this while being paid for this?
Click to expand...

It's linked int he article.
 
N

nib95

Banned
b0neshank said:
I am going to bet we see more and more of this coming to light in the near future.
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I hope not. Needs to be stamped out now. Ultra rich GAFers need to take this to court or something. File whatever complaints need to be done. This sort of non disclosed false advertising must be stamped out.
 
A

Alienous

Member
That 'Battlefield 4 Launch' title thing is fucking damning.

Welp, this is disappointing. Trading proper coverage and informing your fans for becoming a paid shill.
 
N

nib95

Banned
Can someone rally a new campaign where we can all easily complain to the FTC and relevant bodies? Similar to the no DRM GAF campaign.

I feel this is important enough that it warrants another major campaign, and pressure on those involved or those in charge to change, and for the FTC to pay attention.
 
P

PBY

Banned
nib95 said:
Can someone rally a new campaign where we can all easily complain to the FTC and relevant bodies? Similar to the no DRM GAF campaign.

I feel this is important enough that it warrants another major campaign, and pressure on those involved or those in charge to change, and for the FTC to pay attention.
Click to expand...
Lol the law doesn't work like that. But sure if it brings attention to the issue.
 
B

boeso

Member
LevelCap! NO! No!

I did actually think when it launched and people were up in arms, why LevelCap was having such a good time online on PC. I guessed special servers reserved for the you tubers. Ugh
 
J

Jintor

Member
KoopaTheCasual said:
Does anyone have the applicable laws on hand? I would really like to read into this a bit more, because there has to be some penalty for this. I don't want EA/MS behavior to start a domino effect of these special hidden promotion deals. They're all sorts of scummy.
Click to expand...

It looks like this might be at a State-by-State level, and I still don't fully understand how the jurisdictional levels will work out (unless the contract has a handy "This law applies" clause, which they usually do), but here's the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Illinois version) which I'm assuming would be a good start.

/edit on closer examination it might not be. I'll have to research this a bit more.

/edit maaaaybe under clause (12) of s2 regarding 'engages in any other conduct which similarly creates a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding.', but on the whole I think this is more directed at... the actual sellers? I don't know if this would fall under the catchall.
 
K

Kashinoda

Banned
How are the FTC going to fine people from the UK?

I must say though - if I'm Frankie and EA are approaching me with a contract to promote Battlefield 4, I'm not sure why I'd say no or think the contract was in breach of anything. My trust would be in EA or the MCN I'm with.
 
O

Ora

Banned
Welp can someone please recommend me other bf channels to follow seeing as these 3 were literally the only ones I subscribed to.

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
 
H

Hidden One

Member
boeso said:
LevelCap! NO! No!

I did actually think when it launched and people were up in arms, why LevelCap was having such a good time online on PC. I guessed special servers reserved for the you tubers. Ugh
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was wondering. I'm like "Damn why is LC so content with the game when everyone else is complaining?" It all came full circle.
 
R

Revven

Member
Wow... you think you know someone.. That's awful.

This is the exact kind of stuff that was being discussed in the big MS thread -- your favorite Youtube personality could be nothing more than a sellout now.
 
T

tkalamba

Member
Revven said:
Wow... you think you know someone.. That's awful.

This is the exact kind of stuff that was being discussed in the big MS thread -- your favorite Youtube personality could be nothing more than a sellout now.
Click to expand...

Honestly, if the person has any respectable following size, you should have always assumed they were a sellout. Marketers and Advertisers only want people who get good enough traffic.
 
M

Messypandas

Member
Oh Frankie. Any direct compensation for a video by game companys needs to be clearly stated in my opinion. These are just shills otherwise.
 
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