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Fake Bloggers, Go Directly To Jail!

Wow! As a nerd on the PR and marketing beat I find this to be absolutely astounding and heartening: the UK is about to make it a crime for companies to misrepresent themselves as consumers in their online marketing. That means, for example, that a company setting up a fake blog to hype its own products could be prosecuted, fined, and jailed. Free speech? Whatever. This is an awesome development. And bloggers can be locked up, too!

The rules make it an offense to blog, use brand ambassadors or seed viral ads while "falsely representing oneself as a consumer." They also apply to bloggers who fail to disclose they have accepted money to write about a product.

This is not of course, happening in the US. But maybe bloggers should rethink their opinions about accepting free shit in return for positive reviews. Word of mouth marketing online is big business here, but most companies and their marketing agencies are smart enough to realize already that disclosure can save them a world of scandal and bad PR.

So far the exact penalties haven't been spelled out, and it will likely take a test case, reported to the Office of Fair Trading and prosecuted, to make clear the size of the penalty and whether jail time is really likely.

Flogging?

Also, here we gratuitously bring up once again Edelman's famous fake Wal-Mart blog. If only it had happened after May 26, and in the UK.

[Ad Age]

3:09 PM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
1,121 views
10 comments

Comments

famousauthor at 03:18 PM on 04/28/08
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Ronn Torrosiann beware! www.Hamiltonnolan.com may be your downfall.
modelbehavior at 03:22 PM on 04/28/08
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I guess this means I have to return the free condoms, sex toys and subscription to speeddate.com I received. Sigh. Leave it to the Brits to get anal with bloggers.
valarmorghulis at 03:43 PM on 04/28/08
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Before they fix this in the US, I should start a blog, and make a pitch to www.jackherer.com
SFJoe at 03:50 PM on 04/28/08
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How awful - don't they realize that corporations must have no restrictions on what they can do in order to make a profit. The UK needs more Republicans.
ambitious at 04:16 PM on 04/28/08
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As someone who has been asked by her boss, on more than one occasion to 'infiltrate' some site and talk up a client's product (and who has refused every time, not only for ethical reasons but because I'm also lazy when it comes to that kind of thing) this makes me pretty fucking happy.

If your shit is worth talking about, people will talk about it. If you cannot convince with an honest message, you're not good enough at what you do.
Lazy Susan at 06:19 PM on 04/28/08
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Well done on naming the phenomenon: Flogging.

It's so rife you can pick up freelance work on ilance as a copywriter - reviewing products in blogs and chat rooms.

Personally I think it's a great move - but how are they going to police it - with fake cops? Surely the Fops have bigger fish to fry.
raincoaster at 02:29 AM on 04/29/08
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Connectedness Index: 337

It's already illegal in the US to go online and impersonate a specific person who exists, so I can surely see this as a logical step up. Now, policing it is of course going to be a complete nightmare.
raincoaster at 03:21 AM on 04/29/08
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Connectedness Index: 337
raincoaster at 03:21 AM on 04/29/08
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Connectedness Index: 337

Bugga, try that again:
Mouser_UK at 07:52 AM on 04/29/08
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Hmm

But tabloid reporters and editors can hire dodgy PIs (HINT Ex cops who took medical retirement HINT HINT)

the tabs have manged to stave off increaseing pealties for you know hacking the queens mobile.

Obvoisly buzed by geting away with killing Diana has gone the their head