Merchant Affiliate Programs, Affiliate Program Managers and FTC Endorsement Compliance

A couple of years ago there was a huge firestorm of activity and buzz within the affiliate industry about renewed FTC guidelines regarding compliance for disclosing endorsements. In a nutshell, the FTC stated that anyone who endorsed a product/service through media (be in TV, radio, print, or online), and received some kind of compensation for that endorsement should disclose the relationship the endorser has with the product seller (or merchant).

This article seeks to give a quick review of if and when a disclosure statement is needed by affiliates, and what the potential impact is for a merchant who doesn't require their affiliates to disclose: Affiliate Program Managers, FTC Endorsement Compliance and Merchant Affiliate Programs