To date, the practice of blogging and those authors who post articles on the blogosphere have remained largely unregulated. But that may be about to change.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced plans to crack down on dealings between bloggers and advertisers/producers by making bloggers accountable to a set of FTC guidelines. According to the agency, it expects to approve a new set of rules by late summer that will control the common practice by which bloggers accept incentives to promote products, brands, and companies in their posts. In their current form, the regulations have been written to cover the practices of both bloggers and companies who pay them compensation. This would result in a consistent set of norms for an industry that has rejected any such rules up till now.

Why? Says Richard Cleland of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, “Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and … they have an economic motive for what they’re saying, that’s information a consumer should know.

So what does this mean for bloggers exactly, and how will the FTC’s guidelines change the ways of blogging? Many fear that the rules will even extend to the posting of affiliate links. This naturally has bloggers worried. Many Bloggers fear that Federal supervision will make writers apprehensive to post even the most impartial articles, thus preventing the circulation of excellent information and opinions.

Other bloggers advocating for the FTC’s proposal believe that more uniformity among blogger’s disclosure practices could be exactly what the blogosphere needs. These attitudes point to the added confidence that government regulation would give advertisers to work with bloggers and promote on their sites. By covering all online mediums from forums, to blogs, to twitter, the FTC guidelines would level the playing field between bloggers, advertisers and affiliate marketers.

Still others support some type of regulation, but feel that it is not the FTC’s place to decide what rules and guidelines should be implemented. Instead, they argue that advertising should be monitored from inside the blogosphere. These bloggers advocate a set of standards for blogs, decided upon by the bloggers, and supervised and policed by bloggers themselves.

Regardless of their individual and diverse opinions on the proposed Federal Trade Commission regulations, many bloggers are already taking preemptive actions in anticipation of the new plans passing by the end of this summer.

Let us know what you think?
To read the full-proposed guidelines, http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/11/P034520endorsementguides.pdf