Michael Overly writes:
New FTC guidelines (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf) that went into effect on December 1, 2009, may impose liability on businesses for statements their employees make on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, personal blogs, and other sites – even if the company had no actual knowledge those statements were being made. Specifically, if an employee makes comments about the business’ products and services and that employee fails to disclose their employment relationship with the business, the business may be subject to an enforcement action for deceptive endorsements.
The FTC guidelines state that where a connection exists between the speaker and the company selling the products and/or services and that connection would materially affect the weight or credibility of the speaker’s statements, the connection must be fully disclosed.
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