News-like landing pages sued by FTC

No one dictates my ethics or morals. You are just yet another one of the anti-government fools that post ridiculous statements every time "marketing" is threatened in any way.

I have never been worried about the FTC or any other agency that looks out for people who scam others out of money. It's not my business model to scam others out of money.

That's exactly what the FTC is doing but I rather suspect that if it were a DA's office doing it instead, you would have the same objections and call them clowns too.

When the FTC updated their rules, they were crystal clear about how blogs & review sites should avoid using affiliate links or that they should fully disclose the fact that they will make money if you buy from the link. Heck they even warned about paid tweets.

Plus, the guru's went crazy with spreading the word.
For like two weeks, it was impossible to open your email
and not see a guru's email message about this.

.. > the FTC sued affiliate marketers

Man those marketers were stupid for intentionally
breaking the rules in the face of the FTC's serious warnings.

It was just a matter of time before these types of sites got busted. I'm surprised that the FTC is doing something about it though. I would have thought that publishers would want to dissociate themselves with scammy landers and advertisers... but I guess not since the FTC is getting involved.

No. I don't think the government should ban advertorials. I'd fully expect the Supreme Court to rule against the government 9-0 if it ever sought to ban them. But it's hardly the case that banning advertorials is "where things are going." There is no slippery slope to fear in this FTC action.

If National Review or Reader's Digest or that hideous New York Times files an amicus brief that defends the right of Internet Marketers to trade on the name of Consumer Reports and argues that Internet Marketers should be allowed to rename a journalist, put words in her mouth and publish bogus comments to sell an **** weight-loss scheme, I'll take it as a sure sign the apocalypse is upon us.


Who knows? Maybe one of those evil U.S. attorneys and AUSA's one day will decide to convene a grand jury. (If that happens -- and indictments are returned -- I'd fully expect you to argue that a grand jury could indict a ham sandwich.)


Conspiracy theories, too, Ken? Who got paid off at the FTC -- and by which "banks?" Did the "banks" use TARP funds to corrupt the five FTC commissioners and the 1,200 employees?

This is absurd on its face. What part of "Fair Use" permits IMers to appropriate the intellectual property of individuals and companies, create fake news sites with this intellectual property and put words in the mouths of reporters to sell an **** weight-loss scheme?


You buy it from Phil Piccolo. Ever hear of him? He's DNA. In August, he tried to chill critics by threatening them with lawsuits and suggesting he could cause them physical pain.

In November, one of his cheerleaders accused Michael Chertoff, a former federal judge, former federal prosecutor and the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of being a "suspect" in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.


So, the FTC consists of "clowns" and the BBB is a "glorified protection racket?" When I was covering a company known as "Narc That Car" last year, some of the promoters were all over the BBB for giving it an "F." Like Data Network Affiliates, Narc was an MLM that purported to collect license-plate data to help the AMBER Alert program. Narc said it was selling the data to companies in the business of repossessing cars. Some Narc promoters claimed the "program" was associated with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Working for Narc, one rep explained, was like working for the "Census Bureau."

The Internet Marketer who explained this and went on to become one of the BBB's biggest critics in the Narc flap was a man who once was sued successfully by the bar association in Ohio for practicing law without a license. His deposition, taken after he thought it prudent to sue lawyers representing a bank in debt case in which he was not a party, was one for the ages. (Snippets)

Q: What was your date of birth?
A: I don't recall my date of birth.

Q: Where were you born?
A: I don't recall.

Q. Where do you live?
A. I don't recall.

Q. What's your home address?
A. I don't recall.

Q. How long have you lived there?
A. I don't recall.

Q. What's your current occupation?
A. Who said I had an occupation?

Q. Are you gainfully employed?
A. Who said I was employed?

Q. I'm asking you a question.
A. I'm asking you, who said I was employed?

Q. Are you employed?
A. I don't recall being employed.

On a quick side note, the Narc rep and BBB critic later moved to a new "program" that made its first financial claim just ONE second into the sales video. Indeed, at the ONE-second mark, a check for $50,000 was displayed. It was not immediately clear if the swiftness with which the check was displayed established a new world record for an MLM opportunity.

In any event, the respondent in the bar action reminded me of the folks who believe the only thing one need do to reverse a mortgage foreclosure is post a bond consisting of "$21 in silver coinage" at the courthouse. Lots of them also believe that a person can defeat credit-card debt collectors by filing papers that allege that banks do not lend real money and therefore cannot enforce contracts when customers default. For good measure, some of them insist that FEMA is in the business of running death camps and that the United States passed secret legislation in the 1990s in anticipation of a visit by a race of intergalactic, reptilian aliens.

Many of these folks are "Internet Marketers" who pitch their schemes to the most desperate among the desperate. Some of them insist that they answer only to God and that the government has no authority over them. It is not uncommon for them to declare diplomatic immunity when their scams are exposed.

Let's review. A conspiracy involving the "banks" and the FTC, which is "in the pockets" of the banks, is under way? The FTC consists of "clowns"; the BBB runs a "glorified protection racket;" and people who value the presence of both or either entity are "sheep?"

Meanwhile, you'd like to buy some protective spray from DNA/Phil Picollo, who appropriated the name of the AMBER Alert program to recruit affiliates and told a radio audience that he could arrange to injure critics?

Does that cover it, Ken?

Patrick

P.S. Piccolo also told listeners his Christian faith might force him to rethink his threats to sue critics. He did this a few months after DNA belatedly announced the resignation of its CEO, misspelled his name when issuing the announcement and failed to release the free iPhone with unlimited talk and text for $10 a month. The new company that emerged later tried to plant the seed that its bottled-water product, which purportedly was a cancer treatment, was endorsed by the National Institutes of Health.

Please know that, if you purchase a product from Piccolo, you're purchasing a product from a man who claims his "magnetic" shower head prevents leg amputations while also empowering gardeners worldwide to grow tomatoes twice their normal size.

Are you for real? Or are you just looking to increase your post count?

yes we are seeing an increase in this.

With more people going to work for themselves, i would expect more of a crackdown soon.