The Federal Trade Commossion has issued new guidelines about book bloggers. Apparently, if I review a book and don't tell you that I received it for free, I could be fined up to $11,000!
$11,000. For a book review.
Now, I do understand the motivation behind this. There are some powerful blogs (the examples I've read about are mostly mommy-blogs) that endorse consumer products and there have been some concerns that they do not reveal that they are paid by the manufacturer or given free products. I can see why that would be a concern.
You will notice that at the bottom of my reviews, I always tell you if the book was an Advanced Reader Copy (those are the ones the publishers send out for free) and give you a link to buy it online. That should keep me in the clear. But just to be sure, I guess I will have to BE VERY CLEAR when I review a book. Because no free book is worth an $11,000 fine.
You can read of my comments at When Falls the Coliseum.
3 comments:
We are small potatoes, so I am not worried. Besides, I already disclose my book sources anyway.
Since we're all innocent until proven guilty, how really could they know what was sent to me as opposed to something I received as a gift or purchased? I think it's crazy, but that is the job of the government I suppose. I agree with Lenore. I'm not going to worry about it.
Call me if you need bail money.
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