Online users, mostly so-called “power-bloggers” who post product reviews in return for benefit will be obligated to disclose their contract details starting July 14, the state-run antitrust regulator said Wednesday.
In short, the users must reveal that their reviews were a part of a business deal with specific companies. If they fail to disclose such facts, the firms they signed on to issue the reviews will be subject to corrective actions or fines, the Fair Trade Commission said in its new plan to protect consumer rights from unfair promotional activities.
The FTC made it clear that the new measure will be applied to not just individual “power bloggers” but also to the users of popular social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook.
However, the measure fueled doubts as it failed to include any punishment for bloggers who write commercial postings.
The new guidelines from the government came amid public fury over the shady deal between one of the nation’s most powerful bloggers and an electronic gadget company early this month.
A blogger nicknamed “Babyrose” arranged sales of 360,000 won ($305) ozone sterilizers that could harm people’s health and was found to have bagged a fortune in commission.
“We will be also considering a revision to the e-commerce law in order to prevent bloggers from arranging sales of products in return for commission,” said an FTC official.
Last week, the National Tax Agency also announced it will start a tax audit into power bloggers who have earned improper profits for brokering product sales from as early as the end of this month.
