Only the most astute readers among you will have noticed the new tab above labelled “Privacy and Disclosure”. Why sully my little blog with legal-ese and courtroom-speak? Because it’s now required.
Every blog is now required by the Federal Trade Commission to have a disclosure and privacy policy that explains what information is garnered from statistics, whether your site accepts cookies, and whether the blogger is paid to endorse the items they have reviewed. Even if the product was received by the blogger for free but no money was paid, she must divulge that fact. Some blog readers are still unaware that many of the links and boxes that catch their attention and ask them to click are advertising that may result in paying the blog owner a small commission if the click results in a purchase. This must now be disclosed.
The FTC is not the only one requiring disclosure. Do you use Google AdSense on your blog? Here’s what Google has to say in it’s Terms and Conditions for AdSense publishers:
“You must have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy that clearly discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your user’s browser, or using web beacons to collect information, in the course of ads being served on your website. Your privacy policy should also include information about user options for cookie management.”
Google also requires a mention of the DoubleClick DART cookie in your Disclosure. Don’t know what that is? Neither did I. If you’re dying to know, here’s the info. If not then you’ll be happy to know that there are several places on the internet that will generate all of the required information for you. I used SERP Rank but there are many other sites available to design a sufficient policy for free.
Why bother? The Federal Trade Commission specifically states that there will be a fine of up to $11,000 PER POST for any infraction.
You might think, as I did, since your blog is tiny, doesn’t generate a whole lot of dinero, and the chances of free product offers are slim to none – and slim just left town – that you don’t need to comply with these rules. After imagining what it would be like to be fined $11,ooo over a link that paid me $.03, I figured that I would take the time to comply. Also, huge blogs were once tiny blogs so why not prepare right now before the traffic explosion happens. Always the positive thinker, people. That I am.
Do you have a Privacy and Disclosure page on your blog yet? I’d love to hear from you.
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Oh boy, I’d better look into this. We don’t have Google adsense, but are an affiliate with Commission Junction, where we earn commissions if a click results in a purchase.
I’ve also learned since I wrote this post that many affiliate programs will not accept a website if it doesn’t have a Disclosure statement. It’s definitely worth investing a little time to put one on.
Thanks for following!
Sue