The FTC to Affiliate Programs: You will be held 100% reliable for your affiliates
 

Eileen Harrington, director of the FTC's Marketing Practices Division speaking on the signup4cash case:

"There's a message here for anybody running an affiliate program; you need to monitor what the third parties are doing," she said. "If you are using a business model that recruits others, you are strictly liable for the practices of those third parties. It's not just the people who push the button. It's the business that provides the financial incentive. The law is clear and strict."

Things are about to get very nasty in my opinion.

she's pretty tough

utoh this could cause a lot of shit

I forsee a lot of Chinese and Indian webmasters being employed in the near future.

They been saying this for years...and how many have they really prosecuted for 3rd party liability.

Is all scare tactics to some degree.

Mailing is not safe anymore...

Washington has an Anti Spam statute that is still enforceable. $500 bucks an e-mail. And affiliate programs have always been held liable. You can thank AOL vs National Health Care Discount in 2001 for that.

:ak47: Spammers

I think the word you are looking for is accountable, not reliable . . . although reliable would be a good thing.

MetaformX:

Tho they may have a valid intention, - this is all the more reason why any sponsor program does not need to operate under the laws of the US or have anything to do with the FTC.

If that law is "clear and strict", it's not a law I want to know about. I also ain't going to be responsible (beyond any reasonable level) for the conduct of third parties, such as affiliates.

reliable?

but seriously,,thanks for the heads up :Oh crap

what he said

Yeah, sorry, brain fart. I meant Liable.

If they are independent contractors... I don't see the liablity connection? Fucking politicians!

They are not playing and good unwanted adult spam hurts us all. It fuels the fire of the right.

Greetings:

As a gay man, I find it refreshing to see that the government is being inclusive, and obviously promoting raging bull dykes to a position of power.

This leaves the gov wide open for more drastic actions...

Just a question... how would a program determine that there links are being spammed in a non-compliant fashion?

Its all optin, I swear!

Just because a program calls them independent contractors doesn't mean they are released from vicarious liability.

There is a 2 part test not needed but commonly used in court to establish liability.

1. Was there financial gain or enrichment?
2. Was there control or the right to control the actions of the offender.

Affiliate programs hit both. They have financial gain and enrichment, control payouts, terminate accounts, and provide material support among other.

Yes, I studied law. But this is my opinion. Go find your own!

the US is not the only country to do business in

yeah, that sounds about right *sigh*

time to get your business out of the US...I already did

look like it will be a bad option soon to do biz over there :)

hope you got out with the business, if not 2 bad so sad if you spam, not so sure if you are safe even if you are not in the USA

I smell some corporate sabotage going on in the next couple years in this business...

Exactly. Gee, I'll spam my list of 100 million emails with all of my competitors websites.

This will get challenged and thrown out...eventually.

the shit is hitting the fan :\

I was kind of caught up in this too. I didn't know where reliable came from.

exactly
someone pisses me off? well, I'll just spam my ample remove list

I personally wouldn't do that, but wouldn't put it past other companies who want to get rid of the competition...

It was already challenged and the US Supreme Court upheld it.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/0%2C390...28974%2C00.htm

And although you do business outside the United States. Your financial dealings i.e. ccBill and iBill are inside the US. :2 cents: