FTC waits for #beertwitter to chime in: Public comment solicited for endorsement guides (the ones that require you tell me you got that beer or wine for free with the expectation you were going to post about it).

The Federal Trade Commission is looking for public input on whether it should modify its Enforcement Guides (And here are the Endorsement Guides FAQ) as part of an overhaul of all FTC guides and rules.

The Enforcement Guides date back to the 1980s and have been updated since then (2009). The guides provide advice and and information for businesses and influencers and others about advertising that utilises endorsements or testimonials. These are the guidelines that a whole host of social media advertisers fail to abide by when relationships such as free products are not disclosed by people posting reviews or statements about beer, wine, liquor and other products. 

This is an excellent opportunity for those working to expand information and and knowledge through social media to provide input regarding onerous, or irrelevant criteria or guidance that the FTC may currently be pushing, and for consumers to potentially ask for a strengthening of the current rules and guidelines to ensure consumer deception does not run rampant on platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

For those wondering whether the guides might be relevant to what they do. The guides and the clarifying information are helpful, for instance they’ve got this for beer and wine bloggers to pay attention to:

I’m a blogger. I heard that every time I mention a product on my blog, I have to say whether I got it for free or paid for it myself. Is that true?

No. If you mention a product you paid for yourself, there isn’t an issue. Nor is it an issue if you get the product for free because a store is giving out free samples to its customers.

The FTC is only concerned about endorsements that are made on behalf of a sponsoring advertiser. For example, an endorsement would be covered by the FTC Act if an advertiser – or someone working for an advertiser – pays you or gives you something of value to mention a product. If you receive free products or other perks with the expectation that you’ll promote or discuss the advertiser’s products in your blog, you’re covered. Bloggers who are part of network marketing programs, where they sign up to receive free product samples in exchange for writing about them, also are covered.

If social media is your forte or how you make money or where you spend time, then this is definitely applicable to your situation and you should look into it. Start with reading the FAQ above, the FAQ has a whole host of information you may find important, which is why it is one of the questions the FTC is asking people provide input for. Then read the issues below and the contact information and decide if you’d like to chime in.

In a Federal Register notice, the FTC is seeking comment on a wide range of questions, but don’t worry, we found them all and here they are:

(1) Is there a continuing need for the Endorsement Guides as currently promulgated?

(2) Are any specific provisions of the Guides no longer necessary, and, if so, which provisions and why are they no longer necessary?

(3) Are the deceptive or unfair practices addressed by the Guides prevalent in the marketplace? Are the Guides effective in addressing those practices? Are there deceptive or unfair practices involving endorsements that are not covered by the Guides? Are there alternatives, such as individual enforcement actions under the FTC Act, which would be more effective or equally effective in addressing those practices? Do the Endorsement Guides describe any practices that are not deceptive or unfair, and if so, which practices and why are they not deceptive or unfair?

(4) What is the degree of compliance with the Endorsement Guides? What effect, if any, does this have on the continuing need for the Guides? Do covered businesses and others following the Guides’ suggestions self-regulate or have voluntary standards or guidance, such as through trade associations, that overlap with the Guides? If so, to what extent, if any, do the Guides support industry self-regulation or voluntary standards?

(5) What benefits, if any, have the Endorsement Guides provided to consumers? Do the Guides impose any significant costs on consumers?

(6) What impact, if any, have the Guides had on the flow of truthful or deceptive information to consumers?

(7) What changes, if any, should be made to the Endorsement Guides to increase their benefits to consumers? How would these changes affect consumer benefits or business costs?

(8) What burdens or costs, including costs of compliance, have the Guides imposed on businesses? What burdens or costs have the Guides imposed on small businesses in particular? What burdens or costs have the Guides imposed on endorsers? What benefits have the Guides provided to businesses? What benefits have the Guides provided to endorsers?

(9) What changes, if any, should be made to the Guides to reduce the burdens or costs imposed on businesses or endorsers? How would these changes affect the benefits provided by the Guides to consumers, businesses, and endorsers?

(10) Do the Guides overlap or conflict with federal, state, or local laws or regulations? Do the Guides overlap or conflict with any international laws or regulations?

(11) Have consumer perceptions regarding endorsements changed since the Guides were last revised and, if so, do these changes warrant revising the Guides?

(12) What modifications to the Guides, if any, should be made to address technological, economic, or environmental changes that have occurred since the Guides were last revised?

(13) FTC staff periodically updates a business guidance document, “The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking.” Is there guidance in the current version of that document that should be incorporated into the Guides? If so, what and why? Is there guidance in the current version of that document that should not be incorporated into the Guides? If so, what and why?

(14) How well are advertisers and endorsers disclosing unexpected material connections on social media platforms? Does this depend on the type of material connection? What disclosures of material connections are sufficiently clear (i.e., understandable) to consumers when used in social media? What disclosures of material connection currently being used in social media are likely not understood by consumers? Does the sufficiency or insufficiency vary by platform, type of material connection (e.g., a paid post versus a free product), or other factors, and, if so, how? To the extent that these connections are not being adequately disclosed, do the problems tend to be in the substance of the disclosures or in their conspicuousness (e.g., placement, visibility, or audibility)? Should the Guides provide more detail on what disclosures of material connections are sufficiently clear or unclear in different social media formats? Does the fact that Commission Guides are generally reviewed every ten years affect your answer as to whether providing more detail would be helpful?

(15) The FTC has received complaints that young children may not adequately understand disclosures of material connections. To what extent would knowledge of a material connection affect the weight or credibility that young children give to an endorsement? At what age are children capable of making a connection between credibility and a material connection? Does this age differ from the age at which children are capable of identifying advertising? Why or why not and, if so, how? To what extent do young children understand disclosures of material connections? What should advertisers and endorsers appealing to young children know about their intended audience’s understanding of a particular endorsement, advertising format, or disclosure? How can disclosures of material connections in media consumed by young children be made clearer or more effective? How, if at all, are your answers to the above questions impacted by parental involvement in the media consumption of young children? What disclosures of material connections should advertisers and endorsers appealing to young children provide to parents?

(16) Some marketers give incentives (e.g., free or discounted products) to consumers in exchange for posting reviews of their products or services without specifically requiring that the reviews be favorable. Do such incentives skew or bias the resulting reviews? Why or why not? If so, how and to what extent do incentives skew or bias the resulting reviews, and what factors may make such impacts more or less likely? Should such incentives be disclosed? Why or why not and if so, how? Does the nature or value of the incentive matter? If so, how? Do such incentives skew composite ratings? Why or why not and if so, how? Do such incentives impact the order in which products or services are presented to consumers on retail or other review platforms? Why or why not and if so, how?

(17) Some consumer reviewers who receive incentives in exchange for their reviews disclose their material connections in their reviews. Are such disclosures adequate when incentivized reviews are included in composite ratings? Why or why not? Are composite ratings that are based in whole or in part on such incentivized reviews misleading? If such composite ratings are misleading: (1) Are there disclosures that could adequately address this concern and if so, what disclosures; and (2) how should the Guides address composite ratings if disclosures are not sufficient or there is not an opportunity for the marketer to make adequate disclosures (e.g., when the reviews and composite ratings appear on a third party’s website)?

(18) Some marketers actively solicit customer feedback and send satisfied customers down one path to relevant review sites and send customers with negative sentiment down another path, sometimes into some sort of customer service resolution process. What are the costs and benefits of this practice? Should it be addressed in the Guides and, if so, how?

(19) Some advertisers contend that consumers who use social media understand that influencers who promote products are generally doing so only because they are paid or given something by the marketer, regardless of what or whether disclosures appear in social media posts. What evidence is there to support or contradict this assertion and does the answer differ depending on the nature of the material connection? In particular cases, what factors might be considered to determine whether a material connection is unexpected? Do consumer expectations vary by the age of the audience, the product category, the nature of the influencer, the format or substance of the endorsement, or otherwise, and if so, how?

(20) Some endorsers (including the authors of some product reviews) include affiliate links that can be used to purchase the products they are endorsing. Should the Guides address such links, and if so, how? To what extent do consumers expect that these endorsers are compensated for purchases through those links? If so, what compensation arrangements do consumers ordinarily expect? To what extent would knowing of such compensation affect the weight or credibility given to those endorsements? Is there a distinction in terms of either consumer expectations or the weight ascribed to an endorsement between affiliate links to a product’s marketer and affiliate links to one or more retailers? If so, how, why, and how should that be addressed?

(21) What disclosures, if any, do advertisers or the operators of review websites or review platforms need to make about the creation, collection, processing, or publication of reviews or ratings in order to prevent those reviews or ratings from being deceptive or unfair?

(22) What other fact patterns or scenarios should be addressed by the Guides and why?

Direct from the Federal register, here are the instructions for filing your comment:

You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 21, 2020. Write “Endorsement Guides, P204500” on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the https://www.regulations.gov website.

Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it through https://www.regulations.gov, by following the instruction on the web-based form.

If you file your comment on paper, write “Endorsement Guides, P204500” on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, please submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.