Here’s a copy of a PRWeb.com Press Release that will be live on Tuesday, August 8th, 2006.
Owensboro, KY (PRWEB) August 8, 2006 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal government’s chief consumer watchdog agency, regulates the commercial side of the Internet, levying fines on rule violators. What many people don’t realize is that those regulations include corporate and business blogs.
One blogger, Mike Sigers of Simplenomics.com, recognizing that blogs can fall under the same FTC rules as commercial Web sites, is posting legal questions, from bloggers, on his blog at http://simplenomics.com/got-a-legal-question-about-blogging/. Bloggers can post a variety of legal questions for Bob Silber, an internationally known expert on Internet law.
” Many bloggers are not aware of the potential legal problems, and that can be costly, ” Sigers said.
A blog that promotes a business or service, in any manner, can be considered a commercial or business Web site. For example, linking to another business site or collecting information, such as visitor e-mail addresses, can put a Webmaster in the commercial Web site category and trigger FTC rules and regulations. If there is any question on whether a particular blog falls within the business category, it would be prudent to seek the advice of an attorney familiar with that area of law.
The Internet is global and legal mistakes can be, too. In an Associated Press article, Wired.Com reported that a blogger in Italy last month was fined $16,900 by the Italian government for his blog comments.
The number of Internet Web logs, or “blogs” as the sites are called, continues to grow. There are 63 million blogs that have been created on the eight major blog hosting sites, according to BlogHerald.com. Technorati.com is currently tracking more than 50.5 million blogs.
To say the blogging universe is diverse may be an understatement. Today, all types of blogs exist – from soldiers in Iraq providing an unvarnished look at the war, to politicians, to cat lovers, to the corporate business world.
Business owners and commercial bloggers can visit the FTC Web site and review the various rules and regulations that all business Web sites, including blogs, must adhere to.
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