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Do FTC disclosure regulations affect user-generated content?

Hi Dave. Do you have any advice for a Web site that's primarily user generated content, some of which has affiliate links embedded? Do I need to highlight each and every link or can I use a blanket disclaimer to meet the FTC web disclosure guidelines?

Dave's Answer:

I would say you're on the right track thinking about a blanket disclaimer, actually.

The intent of the FTC's recent disclosure requirement "clarification" is to remind us online folk that if your content includes affiliate links or if you got stuff for free or are being paid to blog about it, that you need to disclose that so that the consumer can (ostensibly) make an educated decision about whether to proceed.

Quite reasonable and actually a best practice anyway.

So I would think (caveat: I'm not a lawyer!) that a disclaimer at the bottom of the page would suffice:

"Disclaimer: This site includes extensive user generated content, some of which may include affiliate links or be about the author's own products or services. We cannot investigate and properly identify each link in each entry, so the consumer is hereby notified that these sort of connections may appear on material found on this site."

ftc logoSomething like that. You might just have your lawyer craft something in that vein if you're really concerned you could get in trouble.

I went down that road too: The disclaimers on my sites are written by my lawyer.

As an example, the following disclaimer lives on the bottom of every page on this very weblog:

"Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site."

Will it protect me from spurious lawsuits? I hope so. So far (knock on e-wood) I haven't had to find out...

Hope that's helpful!




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Comments

Hi Dave,

Thanks for this. I admit I was being ignorant about the whole thing since I live in the UK and then suddenly realized it must mean any business transacted in the US. I've been watching what some of the top marketers are doing and the FTC rules for me will force me to add disclaimers where I should have been adding them in the first place.

Trish

Posted by: Trish Jones at November 16, 2009 5:56 PM

Dave,
I agree with what you say but aren't you concerned that publishing your disclaimer in a font size that makes it unreadable effectively invalidates it's existence ?

AJM.

Posted by: AJMegaughin at November 27, 2009 10:00 AM

Valid question, AJM, but no, I'm not. On my browser it's definitely readable, so if you have yours configured - or more generally a visitor has theirs configured - to make it partially illegible, that's not something I have control over anyway. Ask any lawyer in the world, btw, about why they call "the small print" the small print. :-)

Posted by: Dave Taylor at November 27, 2009 10:52 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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