Muzzled mommies: the FTC vs. bloggers.

• Author: Suderman, Peter
• Position: Citings - Federal Trade Commission - Brief article

Is THE, government coming after your mother's blog? If she posts reviews of products she received for free, the answer might be yes.

In the course of updating its advertising and testimonial guidelines, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has floated the idea of regulating online speech. Internet writers who fail to disclose compensation they receive for products they review favorably could be held liable by the agency. The proposed guidelines don't specify penalties, but current false advertising rules allow for punishments that include fines and forced corrective disclosures.

Who would be covered by the new rules? It's not clear. The proposed guidelines say a college student who reviewed a new video game console provided by the company would be infringing if he didn't disclose that he received a free review copy. But what distinguishes the...