Oct 6, 2009

URGENT!

I was just over at Brooke Reviews and saw this urgent message regarding book bloggers/reviewers. She saw this at Donna over at Bites Blog so I'm helping to spread the word.

This is straight from Brooke's blog which is straight from Donna's blog, because as Brooke says, Donna obviously knows more about it than any of us.


I talked about this back in
August. Thanks to At Home With Books for posting the most recent information.

Starting December 1, the FTC will require disclosure from all bloggers whom they deem as being compensated for their reviews on any products. Meaning, if you review something for free and retain the product, you must disclose it or risk a mighty fine. Upward of $11,000. But you could always return it . . . O_o

That means book bloggers, people. Keeping a review copy is considered compensation and must be disclosed. Fun stuff, right?

This article goes into more detail thanks to an interview with a member of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Don't say I didn't warn you! While they say the FTC will target the companies as opposed to the bloggers for fines (considering the sheer number of us), it still means we have to amend how we run things with our blogs. And our taxes. Remember, if review copies are considered compensation, they have a monetary value and need to be reported on taxes. OMG, fun!

Aside from the ultimate level of suck this is at, I wouldn't get too worked up for it but at the same time I wouldn't brush it off, either. It's best to keep up to speed on things like this because the last thing you want is the FTC and the IRS on your ass.

There it is. Be sure to spread the word to other bloggers and reviewers.

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