There has been a fair bit of hoo-hah in IM circles recently concerning the US Federal Trade Commission recent ruling on how affiliates should promote products through their websites. We don’t do legalese here at CFP and certainly don’t wish to wade through reams of legal documentation. However as we do make some of our living through affiliations and we do sell US sourced stuff (which brings us under the FTC remit apparently) we thought we’d better sit up and take note.

Here are a couple of industry commentators takes :

The “new” FTC regulations and affiliate marketing — get the facts

However, most people are unaware that affiliate marketing on the Internet even exists, so it seems unlikely to me that they will know you’re earning a commission without being told outright, unless what they’re clicking on is clearly an …

FTC Crackdown: The REAL Death Of Affiliate Marketing | Jonny …

The REAL Death Of Affiliate Marketing (And Just In Time For Christmas!) By now I’m sure you’ve heard the FTC is dropping the hammer starting Dec 1st 2009 regarding product endorsements and the use of testimonials in marketing… …

Reading between the lines it seems as though (a) you shouldn’t make outlandish and unverified claims about any product, even if you have used it, and definitely not if you haven’t, and (b) you should always make clear that you are receiving compensation through commission for any products that are clickable on site.
This all seems like fairly sensible, rational stuff that applies (certainly here in the UK) to ‘offline’ businesses. It looks as though the legislation was bought in to deter and make an example of ’scammers’ and unethical online marketers – something we’d all agree with ?