FTC vs. the Blogosphere Day 3 and 4 Roundup

We skipped a day on the FTC blogola round-up, not because there wasn’t a lot of posts on the topic, but because, well, other stuff was worth saying, and we didn’t want to have 90% of the blog be all-FTC all the time.

We’re still following this story, though, and as we noted early this morning, the FastCompany interview of Rich Cleland brought out a whole new round of commentary.

Anti-FTC

Robert X. Cringely / PCWorld | This Blog Brought to You by the Federal Trade Commission – “Unfortunately, the FTC’s 81-page guide has more holes than OJ’s alibi. The rules are so confusing and arbitrary as to be entirely unenforceable. They attempt to create distinctions between bloggers and journalists (how about journalists who blog?) and between "traditional media… with independent editorial responsibility" and blogs that review products, which do not exist in the real world.”

Adam Thierer / PFF | What I Don’t Get about the FTC’s New Blogger Guidelines – Adam says that it’s a first amendment issue that the FTC can’t possibly hope to govern within the confines of constitutionality.

Jack Shafer / Slate | The FTC’s Mad Power Grab – If you can’t tell from the title, this is a pretty anti-FTC post: “In other words, the vagueness of our guidelines doth make suspects of you all.”

Sean P. Aune / Tech.Blorge | FTC says the $11,000 fine for bloggers is “not true” … well, sort of – Recaps the story and explains how ludicrous Cleland’s 180 is.

David Rothman / TeleRead | FTC won’t protect us from DRM fraud—but wants to crank down on mom-and-pop book reviewers – Complains that the FTC isn’t doing it’s job by focusing on bloggers. Has a good point!

Neutral

Jay Yarrow / Silicon Alley Insider | FTC: Actually, We Don’t Really Mean That Stuff About $11,000 Non-Disclosure Fines – Extensively quotes the FastCompany post.

PaidContent | About That Fine … FTC Tries To Calm Blogger Concerns About Product Mentions – Simple recap of the FC article.

Consumer Advertising Law Blog | The Company Paid Me To Tell You How Lousy Their Product Is – FTC Publishes Final Endorsement, Testimonial Guides – I question whether or not they’ve read the guidelines or are going from coverage. They state that “the Guides state that enforcement focus will continue to be on the advertiser and not the endorser.” This, however, isn’t the case.

Andy Beal / Marketing Pilgrim | FTC Confirms Bloggers Need Not Fear the $11,000 Fines – Andy has remained pretty neutral throughout the whole affair, more or less simply reporting what others are saying with moderate commentary.

Pro-FTC

Absolutely none – no one has posted in the last two days (at least on my radar) that has been pro-FTC. The FTC seems to be losing this PR battle.

Our Recent Coverage on the Story

John Furrier: Why Matt Cutts is Wrong on the FTC Rules

Rich Cleland Pulls a 180° on Blogger Liability

Art Lindsey III: America 2.0: Freedom as a Service [FaaS]

FTC vs. the Blogosphere Day 2 Roundup

The Dangerous Perceptions of the New FTC Rules Explained [Part One]

FTC Media Roundup: The Good, the Bad and the Indifferent