The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Published New Guidelines, just 6 days ago, which will affect the way you handle business online. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice - just my thoughts and opinions. I believe it is important that you make any necessary changes to your current websites, in order to comply. Personally, the guidelines are not crystal clear, but I suggest that you read over them and do what you need to do. I felt a bit upset at first, as it seems the amount of control the government has over every aspect of our lives, is increasing daily. My main fears are related to losing what I've worked so hard for - and I'm sure you guys understand that. But, I really believe the best thing to do is to adjust what you have on your sales pages, update a Terms of Service/Disclosure Policy and get rid of anything that is questionable.
First, you can read the Guidelines at the FTC government website here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm
Basically, there are new rules regarding testimonials, and disclaimers on promotions of product or services. You also must have proper disclosure of financial benefits you receive by recommending products or services - this could be interesting as we are involved in affiliate marketing.
If you want to create a DISCLOSURE POLICY to put on your website, you may want to try this: http://disclosurepolicy.org/ - it helps you generate one for free, to use on your sites (I'm not sure if that is legally acceptable by the FTC...)
Lastly, if you want to know what it's like to be SUED by the FTC, please read this post by Frank Kern - http://masscontrolsite.com/blog/?p=57 - it actually made me understand the seriousness of this and how I must add the disclosure policies to all my sites. Frank, in addition to sharing his REAL story, gives straight forward advice, as he's been around the FTC a lot and has had a lawyer throughout, to help him straighten it all out. In the end, he gave the FTC all his money. Please read for full story.
The last thing I recommend, is Frank's recently post about the new guidelines and how to handle it all: http://masscontrolsite.com/blog/?p=59
