We've got czars and now a ukase (указ)

At PC Magazine Dan Costa comments on the new rules for bloggers--not magazines like his that give product recommendations all the time without disclosures.

"The FTC released guidelines designed to crackdown on the blogger payola—the risible practice of paying people to write favorable things about your products or company. As the editor who runs the Reviews team here at PCMag.com, I thought it would be worth my time to wade through the 81-page guide of regulations. After all, the penalty could be $11,000 per violation. Near as I can tell, the regulation will require every blogger to disclose payments, gifts, and professional interests for every tweet, post, or email that supports a given company. In other words, this mess of regulations misunderstands media, creates unenforceable rules, and, quite possibly, violates our First Amendment right to free speech."

I sometimes recommend products here--I think New York Honey Crisp are tastier than Michigan's, and neither as good as Minnesota's, and I love that wonderful face cream from J.R. Watkins, the reason people think I'm 68 instead of 70. But I don't carry ads, and no one has given me anything. I suspect that will make no difference if the government decides to shut down a blogger.

An ukase (указ) is an edict from a czar.

FTC guidelines

A lot of professional journalists (not covered) are also bloggers, and web 2.0 users of social media. Who pays the fine? And do we really need the FTC to sift through millions of facebook and youTube entries for unacknowledged product placement or misinformation.