Tech | April 28, 2008 | 7 comments

UK cracks down on phony consumer bloggers

source: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=126667

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digitrash
Word-of-mouth marketing in the U.K. will face radical restrictions starting May 26, when it will become a criminal offense for brands to seed positive messages online without making the origin of the message clear.

Brand owners will face fines or even prison sentences if they contravene the consumer-protection regulations. The legislation came into force across Europe on Jan. 1, 2008, and is set to begin in the U.K. next month.

The rules make it an offense to blog, use brand ambassadors or seed viral ads while "falsely representing oneself as a consumer." They also apply to bloggers who fail to disclose they have accepted money to write about a product.
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7 comments // UK cracks down on phony consumer bloggers

  • mario_a
    • 0
      mario_a  

    • Interesting. I think disclosure is the key when it comes to companies participating in online communities.

      False representation is underhanded and far worse than knowing that the message/content provided is originating from the company in question.

      This seems like a no-brainer, honestly.

    • 4 years ago
  • _Hayko
  • Purdey
    • 0
      Purdey  

    • ""Bad = slippery slope for free speech? ""

      Free speech is not at stake, we just want to know who said it !

      ""Good = Media pollution is cut down a little bit. ""

      I like the term 'media pollution', cutting back pollution and inheirent dillution works for me.

    • 4 years ago
  • lwhi
    • 0
      lwhi  

    • I think this is a very positive step. We shouldn't confuse an individual's right for freedom of speech, with a individual corporation's desire to use deception to maximise profit.

      Even using IMDB these days is an exercise in critical thinking; due to the large amount of phony, purely positive, studio fed reviews.

      I suppose the positive effect is people are reminded to not believe everything they read... maybe media education should be part of the curriculum?

    • 4 years ago
  • digitrash
    • 0
      digitrash  
    • Image

    • note: I just changed the wording in the title to better reflect that we're talking about phonies posing as consumers, not phonies posing as corporations. Fake Steve Jobs is probably still safe for now ;)

    • 4 years ago
  • VoyagerFilms
  • Rainfall_Media
    • 0
      Rainfall_Media  

    • Is this a good or bad thing?

      Bad = slippery slope for free speech?
      In my opinion, not really, corporate ads hurt democracy.

      Good = Media pollution is cut down a little bit.

      Next up: increase property taxes per square foot of corporate office space, use the funds to make public transportation free, get rid of ads on public property: SF Muni, Paris Metro, London Underground (use the space for local art)

      (Lets learn something from São Paulo)

    • 4 years ago
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