The FTC has announced that bloggers who don't disclose that they've received money or freebies to review a product can be fined up to $11,000. ReadWriteWeb has the text of the guidelines as a Scribd document and says "there can be no doubt that marketers regularly approach independent bloggers (and especially mommy bloggers) with freebies." However, as Wired.com's Epicenter points out, it's tough to figure out who the rules apply to, since "established review sites" like Consumer Reports don't have to disclose freebies: "the hardest question of all in an age where everyone has access to an online printing press, how can you distinguish a professional site from an amateur one?" And Marketing Pilgrim says another gray area is "where do you post the disclosure-does it have to be within the post, or is a 'disclosures' page sufficient--and, do you have to disclose what you received in compensation?"

Book bloggers may be particularly affected, since publishing houses send free review copies to all kinds of reviewers. "While newspapers (and magazines, and radio shows, and TV shows) are able to receive consumer products for the purposes of review with no requirement to disclose the provenance of those products, the FTC's stated position is that bloggers are receiving those same consumer products as compensation for a presumed endorsement: Nobody but a blockhead ever gave a blogger anything, according to the FTC, except for good reviews," writes GalleyCat. EdRants was further frustrated in an interview with the Bureau of Consumer Protection's Richard Cleland: "Cleland insisted that when a publisher sends a book to a blogger, there is the expectation of a good review. I informed him that this was not always the case and observed that some bloggers often receive 20 to 50 books a week. In such cases, the publisher hopes for a review, good or bad. Cleland didn't see it that way.

"How do I feel about this? Simple. Reviewing books from publishers is going to be too expensive, both in time and money, for me. I will stop doing it," says Chasing Ray. "Never mind that consumers aren't three-year old morons. Never mind that there are plenty of other reasons people are biased other than having been paid," says Silicon Alley Insider angrily. "The government must protect you (and mainstream media) from those dangerous bloggers!" But when Scribbit breaks down the rules a bit, things sound less dire. "For the record, just because we are all 'mom bloggers' doesn't make me feel like I owe my visitors some explanation of my online paychecks," writes MomDot. "Would you trust my opinion less if I was paid? If so, then stop coming here."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.