The FTC sued me out of business two years ago yesterday- here is my story

[bobsedge]

Originally Posted by nuneybopper

Man Bob, that's crazy. I really feel for you. Personally I think any entity that claims authority over someone is inevitably going to abuse that power - it's just human nature, as they would say. I didn't bother to see if this was covered, but could you say exactly what it was that the FTC sued you over?

Sorry, I don't really have the strength to re-hash it but if you go through the threads you will put it together.

Here is something to keep in mind that I don't think has been brought up.

The FTC does not evaluate the product. They don't care if you sell a pet rock, but they do care if you claim the pet rock will bark and it doesn't. If it's a rock and you call it a rock, you can sell it for $1 million.

The FTC formula is basically limited to "is the product what they say it is?"

So in that regard, these new rules make a lot of sense. When we are all writing our copy we need to ask ourselves if we are framing the product or service in a truthful light? Will the customer really get what we are pitching?

It is basically common sense.

[HeySal]

Generally, an FTC action is not criminal, though it can be. I actually know another business in my industry that was raided. The FTC and FBI actually leased office space in his building for six months so they can keep an eye on the business.

I really believe that the FTC realized they made a mistake in coming after us. Not because they thought we were innocent, but because they realized we didn't have the assets they normally like to capture. Based on what I could tell, their investigation began at least 18 months prior to that fateful day.

Of course - we need to remember that WF is the most well known IM forum on the planet at this time. It would be extremely naive to think that there is not FTC infiltration here. I have been absolutley amazed myself at the amount of hype generated for launches, websites, etc. and would be very surprised if this forum wasn't browsed on a weekly basis by regulators.

Can we be certain that none of our own members are not regulators of some sort?
Do a click through of the sig files here -- can you imagine how much money there is to be made by the FTC right here in this forum? I can't even start to imagine the totals being drooled over by investigators breezing through forums with less reputable marketing norms (I won't mention names, but we all know examples I'm rather sure).

I would think that anyone frequenting anyplace where masses of marketers convene might smartly be a tad bit more inclined to really watch out for anything they put out to the public right now

[Thomas Belknap]

Well, this industry got crazy with all the reviews sites, fake blogs, fake endorsements and so on...

Heck, I know not to trust all the review sites out there knowing they are getting paid for their endorsements. Most people don't know how it works and a little more transparency isn't a bad thing.

I would imagine this is the type of thing the FTC should be jumping on.

[MrLD]

This could be the end to all those fake reviews and testimonials....

[nuz]

All this government bullying reminds me of the zeitgeist addendum documentary. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. No matter what country you live in. Just google it and watch the video. A MUST SEE!!

[UBotBuddy]

Thanks for sharing Bob. I hope you find a slice you can be happy with.