Quick FTC question

[ruch1v]

does the new FTC guidlines about testimonials and affiliate links only affect people in the US or worldwide?

thanks

[Dino F]

Antoher FTC Thread

As far as I understood it does affect people in the USA and people outside of the USA who do business within the USA. I think that as an affiliate marketer you mostly sell to people in the USA. So doesn't matter where you live it does affect you if you sell to americans.

But I am not 100% sure about that.

[seasoned]

YES, it affects EVERYONE! Why ask anyway? It is just asking for HONESTY!

[InternetMarketingIQ]

It's not going to effect people anywhere the FTC has not jurisdiction. But it's really not a problem... why would you want to make up fake testimonials?

[ruch1v]

Originally Posted by InternetMarketingIQ

It's not going to effect people anywhere the FTC has not jurisdiction. But it's really not a problem... why would you want to make up fake testimonials?

nope but if I can no longer feature performance based testimonials then itd be good to know

[Coach Ramy]

hey guys...check this video out...frank kern sent it out today in his newsletter....his attorney made it, it's about the ftc regulations...hope it helps.

Exclusive Video On FTC Compliance

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by NathanFalkner

Here's how it works. The U.S. based FTC creates a
rule. Everyone in the rest of the world must follow it.
Other countries create rules. Nobody in the U.S. has
to follow those rules. That's "basically" what I've
learned from the various threads about these topics.

OH YEAH, nobody in the US must pay vat tax, etc....(SARC) Frankly, ARE there foreign agencies that have stricter trade practices than the US? It seems that people in foreign countries that mention a difference always want to bend things in THEIR favor! This implies that, if they ARE following local law, it is not as restrictive as the US law.

The TRUTH is that many corporations in the US that do business abroad have to have offices there and FOLLOW the laws! Clickbank acts as a foreign vendor, and they DO pay VAT tax. If you, as an affiliate of AMAZON or CLICKBANK, SUBVERT the law to make sales, THEY may have to pay, etc.... It is only FAIR that you follow US law to support them as americans will follow any laws THEY hear about, etc....

Steve

[scrofford]

Originally Posted by deanfz

Antoher FTC Thread

As far as I understood it does affect people in the USA and people outside of the USA who do business within the USA. I think that as an affiliate marketer you mostly sell to people in the USA. So doesn't matter where you live it does affect you if you sell to americans.

But I am not 100% sure about that.

How in the world could it affect me if I lived in Europe or Brazil or Spain? I can tell yoiu that other countries aren't into really enforcing what our crap Federal Trade Commission is doing!

[Frank Donovan]

Originally Posted by Coach Ramy

hey guys...check this video out...frank kern sent it out today in his newsletter....his attorney made it, it's about the ftc regulations...hope it helps.

Actually, that's just a five minute promo video for a "legal" service selling for $97. There's precious little info in it about the FTC guidelines.


To address the OP - The FTC only have jurisdiction within the US, so they won't be coming after any foreign businesses that fail to comply with their regulations - at least not directly.

But don't forget that a non-US business may still be using a US hosting company, domain register etc. Or you may be an affiliate for a US-based company. The FTC could certainly put pressure on those businesses to "persuade" you to comply. So it's probably best to ensure you stay within the guidelines, wherever you're located.


Frank

[Bill Farnham]

Originally Posted by Coach Ramy

hey guys...check this video out...frank kern sent it out today in his newsletter....his attorney made it, it's about the ftc regulations...hope it helps.

Exclusive Video On FTC Compliance

I guess you never watched the video...it's a pitch, it's not content.

KJ

[Mike Anthony]

Might as well live with it instead of going into denial


The FTC rules will affect EVERYONE

That does business through any US company. So if you can do without Paypal, Clickbank, VISA, Mastercard then your good

These companies are going to fall in line with the FTC . Outside of the US you may not be fined or arrested but I don't know any marketer that can operate without those payment processors if they decide to shut you off.

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by NathanFalkner

Good question. That's not discussed here though, only
the actions of U.S. based regulatory agencies. But
yeah, I've often wondered aloud if there are rules that
exist in Australia (for example) that are relevant for U.S.
based webmasters. Same thing with Singapore. One of
the investment websites I co-own has made more than
a few sales to people virtually all over the world. So I'm
genuinely interested in the topic. But the emphasis and
focus around here is on U.S. based regulatory agency
compliance, so I can't help but assume the rest of the
world's rules are largely meaningless for anyone based in
the U.S. (even if selling to someone in another country). lol

What a dumb assumption. There ARE people here that are from europe, austrailia, asia, etc...

But mike anthony makes a good point. ***********EVERYONE*********** here relies on US businesses! How do I know? One reason is because visa, mastercard, amex, verisign, etc.... at least tow the line. I think all are US businesses. If you don't do business with verisign, for example, you will NOT be able to have domain names that are .NET, or .COM!!!! BTW .COM and .NET are licensed through the US government!!!!! And NO, it doesn't matter WHO you pay, whether it is godaddy, ecom, domaini, etc.... They are merely RESELLERS! And what of the US routers? Knocking out ONE connection could cost you nearly every customer in the US. It COULD even force you to change your domain name!

So the FTC has more ability at their dispossal than they ever used, and they know it. Even if they don't lock YOU up, they can lock up your SERVER, or at least limit access.

Steve