The voluntary FTC guidelines offer broad suggestions for how advertisers can avoid deceptive marketing strategies. These guidelines, however, were last updated in 1980, so the FTC wanted to consider new marketing techniques, like blogs. These steps help your game review site stay legal.
1
Disclose fully any perks or gifts associated with a game review
If you’re a video game reviewer for a blog, or in any way give a positive or negative input on a game, you should disclose whether you received the game as a comp or not. Morally and ethically it’s the high ground, and if there’s a worst case scenario you have a good defense against a possible (though extremely unlikely) event of FTC questioning.
2
Give clear guidelines to reviewers they must diclose if the game being reviewed is free or discounted
If you are running a site or online magazine reviewing games, you need to include guidelines for your reviewers that if they receive comps or discounted pricing for games they put forth an opinion on, they must make a clear disclosure of this fact as a condition of their continuing participation. It wouldn't hurt to include it in any employee policy manual or writers' FAQ pages. Make certain at the very least that the writer signs off on understanding these ethics rules (or include it in the employee guidelines signoff).
3
Make certain legal counsel and marketing personnel understand these rules
If you are the legal counsel for an online magazine or games blog, you should consult these regulations to make certain your clients are fully protected. Inform them in writing of the rules, and give them a pointer to the FTC's updated page so that the developer, game magazine publisher, or online blog publisher can follow the laws as they become updated.
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