• Chicago Tribune, Monday, October 11, 2010 10:33 AM

The blurring lines between advertising and independent Internet reviews have not only made consumers cynical, Ameet Sachde writes, it has also forced the government's hand. Last October, the Federal Trade Commission updated its truth-in-advertising guidelines to require anyone paid in cash or in-kind to provide an online endorsement to disclose the financial relationship to the audience.

"Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellers," according to Mary Engle, director of the FTC's division of advertising practices.

Randall Rothenberg, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, says that the "spirit is right" and "transparency" is good but he feels that the FTC is being heavy-handed. "I would prefer it happen without the threat of government sanction," he says.

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