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Digital
OFT rules against undeclared promotional blog posting
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 14 December 2010
This is interesting. The Office Of Fair Trading has criticised companies which make postings on blogs or send out strategically targeted tweets on behalf of paying clients without declaring that is what they are doing. Well, they have criticised one company in particular for doing this, but it possibly sets a precedent that undeclared promotional blogging or tweeting, ie where an agency pretends to be a neutral third party, is possibly against the law.
According to The Guardian, the targeted agency was London-based Handpicked Media. However that agency’s boss, Krista Madden, has welcomed the OFT ruling, insisting that she always advises her clients to be upfront about their promotional blog commenting and that the complaint against her company stemmed from a single undeclared promotional tweet that was the exception rather than the rule with regards her work. She has now committed to always declare the promotional nature of her postings.
But, Madden says, undeclared blog posting and tweeting is widespread, with a number of her competitors operating in this space. The OFT has not said it intends to investigate those other companies, but this week’s ruling may be food for thought for anyone providing such a service.
