We've posted a number of times about the issues of
fake review and affiliate sites. Of how badly they've polluted the industry. We caught
major magazines that people trust getting paid off in affiliate commissions. There are a number of youtube channels that are the same thing, paid reviewers.
It had gotten really bad. It was literally at a point that legitimate, high quality manufacturers and their dealers were at a major disadvantage because of the way poor quality manufacturers could pay hundreds of fake review sites, if not thousands, to write glowing reviews of their crappy products. I've had to tell people to go to Reddit, for God's sake, as the only place, in the whole internet, that they could find real people talking about equipment.
Well, except for my blog.
Well, I guess the Federal trade commission actually listened. Or maybe it had just got into that point of ridiculousness.
This new guidance makes it illegal to purchase reviews, or to pay people for reviews, and that would mean in commissions. End of story.
Also, the new rules stress the illigitimacy of of companies knowingly allowing people with no experience with their products to purport such expertise.
This is nothing less than government at its best, protecting honest businesses and honest manufacturers from a whole deceptive marketing ecosystem. They have just upended the whole fake review marketing industry.
“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “By strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”From
Here. And I will tell you that this is decades too late, but also just in time.
A deeper dive into the
exacts are here.