FTC Sends Message to Bloggers. Will Twitterers Be Next?

The FTC recently decided to fine bloggers up to $11,000 per post for failing to disclose payments received for product endorsements.

A great move, and long overdue in my opinion. Consumers trust bloggers to provide honest opinions and recommendations about products and services. They should tell their readers when they receive any sort of material compensation relating to their posts, and many already do. Anything less just seems unethical.

But will Twitterers be next? Who is to say that professionals working for advertising and public relations agencies aren’t tweeting about products and services offered by the clients they represent from their personal Twitter accounts? I’m sure some do, and most probably think nothing of it. But is it really ethical?

I suppose one could argue that if the person clearly identifies the firm they work for in their Twitter profile, and that firm discloses its clients on its Web site, it’s not such a big deal. But it might still leave the average person guessing as to whether a tweet comes from the heart or serves as a paid endorsement.

Marketing and public relations professionals might also consider circumventing ethical questions by only tweeting client-related information from their agency Twitter account, which would make their material connections slightly more obvious and their tweets a bit easier to swallow.

Should the industry be talking about this? Should we be setting some parameters that ensure everyone operates above board and self-police our practices? Or is this simply a personal judgment call?