New FTC Rules Affect Bloggers & Testimonial & Celebrity Ads

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials – Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

October 5, 2009.  The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

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Cyberbullying Bill Gets Chilly Reception

Wired.com: “Proposed legislation demanding up to two years in prison for electronic speech meant to ‘coerce, intimidate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to a person’ was met with little enthusiasm by a House subcommittee on Wednesday.  Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-California) lobbied fellow lawmakers of a House Judiciary subcommittee to back her proposed legislation dubbed the ‘Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act.’ In its first congressional hearing, Sanchez said the proposal was designed to target the cyberbullying that led to the 2006 suicide of the 13-year-old Meier of Missouri.”

Professor Wins Copyright Case & Fees from James Joyce Estate

San Francisco Chronicle:  “A Stanford professor who battled James Joyce’s estate for the right to quote family documents in research on one of the author’s most celebrated works will get $240,000 from the estate for her legal fees, the university said Monday.  Carol Shloss’ settlement with Joyce’s heirs ends a court case in which the estate, fiercely protective of its rights to his works, refused to let Shloss use excerpts from his papers or his daughter’s medical records in her 2003 book, ‘Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake.'”

Sin Taxes on Soda, Alcohol & Cigarettes: Congress’s Latest Vice

The Heritage Foundation:  “So-called ‘sin taxes’ are fashionable in Congress because they fall on unpopular behaviors and activities.  This makes them easier to increase than other taxes and a politically convenient funding mechanism for expansion of government programs.  Sin taxes are an effort by Congress to curb behaviors that it does not favor.  They also lead to higher deficits. Instead of raising taxes on unpopular behaviors and activities to fund its largesse, Congress should restrain spending to live within its means.”

Taxes currently being considered by Congress or recently enacted by Congress:

  • Soda tax
  • Alcohol tax
  • Cigarette tax – In early 2009, Congress passed a law increasing the federal tax on  cigarettes from $0.39 to $1.00
  • Vehicle miles tax or an increase in the gas tax
  • Stock transaction tax
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