New rules and guidelines for online Internet marketers and vendors are coming up fast. The date they become effective in the USA is Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

I guess some webmasters will be busy over the weekend to update their sites if they have not taken action earlier.

But what is this all about anyway?

Why not ask an expert?

Jim Edwards did.

FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Clarifies New Internet Marketing, Blogging & Affiliate Advertising Guidelines With Jim Edwards (↑)

I strongly recommend you go over there and take opportunity to get this FREE information. Jim offers you 3 options.

1. Webinar Video Replay
   
   
2. Webinar Audio Replay
   
   
3. PDF Transcript
   
   (The PDF version is for Jim’s email subscribers only. But guess what, you can sign up for his list on the spot.)

Get all that legal info for FREE.

Jim Edwards interviews Rich Cleland, Assistant Deputy FTC (↑)

In previous posts I have also written about those changes in guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission in the USA for Internet marketing practices. I also wrote about similar — even tighter — legislation for Internet marketers in the EU (European Union).


At this point I want to thank Andy Beard (↑) who mentioned this interview in his latest blog post, “Harder Facts About Comment Spam (↑).”

Take a legal notepad, some time in the evening and listen to that valuable information. Or at least get the PDF for later reference. No idea how long it will be online.


Enjoy the weekend.

Yours
John W. Furst

In previous posts I have written about changes in guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission in the USA which will affect Internet marketing practices effective December 01, 2009. I also mentioned similar legislation for Internet marketers in the EU (European Union).

Of course, I am not a lawyer and what I write or say only reflects my opinion. And as much I like to discuss legal matters on a theoretical basis with business friends late at night sometimes, I really do not like the day to day implications of laws at all. That does not mean that I can ignore them.

Due to the latest announcement of changes in regulations for advertisers in the USA, a lot of people talk, write, and speculate about that subject.

Situation In The USA

I published my opinion about an hour ago as a separate note:

• Time To Double Check Your Advertising? - FTC Changes Guidelines Effective Dec 1, 2009

The core elements can be summarized as follow:

• Disclose the use of affiliate links on your sites and in your social media profiles.
• Disclose any form of relationship when writing about commercial products and services. Even if you only got a free sample worth $0.99
• Monitor your affiliates and publishers for compliance with the new regulations.
• Always tell the truth.
• Think twice before showing specific results in testimonials.
• Last but not least don't use fake blogs with made up reviews and those kind of things.

You may want to read my entire note.

Situation In The European Union

Let's not forget, the Internet is more or less a medium without national borders.

I mean to say, it is likely that any website targeted to US consumers will effect some of the 500 million consumers in the European union as well.