In the USA, it doesn't seem to be done. I was actually shocked -- and then realized how naive I was -- when i was talking to someone at a party who had a tiktok where she reviewed garden products, to find out that it wasn't just "free product", she was literally getting paid by the companies to give them good reviews, and from the tiktok you wouldn't know she wasn't just reviewing things she had bought on her own independently.
It did seem to me like this was probably a problem for the FTC, but I realized, oh, this is just how it's done now, nobody ever discloses.
Most of the statutes that can only be enforced by the federal government are like this: it's not just the FTC.
Federal law enforcement is a teensy tick on top of an enormous dog which is crime. The FTC is really small compared to its purported bailiwick. It would need more lawyers than the largest law firms in the US to accomplish anything close to its responsibilities, and it would need to duplicate the FBI to act as its enforcement/investigation arm. Most of the jobs at the FTC aren't even lawyer jobs, but are in more analytical roles.
then the question that will never be solved: scale down/simplify the laws to what can be enforced, or exoand the bureaucracy to try to meet the demand signal...
Perhaps I'm unimaginitive, but it seems impossible to enforce anyway: how can you tell the difference between my verbose and well-thought-out positive review of a product I really liked, compared to someone paid to come up with their own positive review?
Cynically, for years I've been treating pretty much every single product review I encounter as though it's bought by the manufacturer. Ya know, since the internet is a giant steaming pile of algorithmically generated bullshit (for the most part).
>it seems impossible to enforce anyway: how can you tell the difference between my verbose and well-thought-out positive review of a product I really liked, compared to someone paid to come up with their own positive review?
Sting operations seem like a practical way to enforce this rule.
(Not that I consider the rule a good one: in fact, if as others here say, the rule is "WILDLY unenforced" in the US, then I say either start enforcing it more or get rid of it.)
> how can you tell the difference between my verbose and well-thought-out positive review of a product I really liked, compared to someone paid to come up with their own positive review?
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but isn't this the problem of enforcement period? How can you tell I didn't just buy this garage full of Playstations and throw away the receipt? How can you tell he was pushed over that cliff, and he didn't just trip? In the case of paid advertisements, at least you've got a paper trail connecting the advertiser and the, ugh, influencer.
FWIW, most Twitch/YT streamers I see label their sponsored content as #sponsored or #ad. There are certainly more pernicious ads that go unlabeled though,
Yeah, the problem with laws is they need to be enforced. It is even harder when the enforcers disagree with the laws (local police vs. gun laws, vax laws, noise laws), or if there deliberately are not enough enforcers (FTC, SEC, IRS, etc., underfunding).
In the USA, it doesn't seem to be done. I was actually shocked -- and then realized how naive I was -- when i was talking to someone at a party who had a tiktok where she reviewed garden products, to find out that it wasn't just "free product", she was literally getting paid by the companies to give them good reviews, and from the tiktok you wouldn't know she wasn't just reviewing things she had bought on her own independently.
It did seem to me like this was probably a problem for the FTC, but I realized, oh, this is just how it's done now, nobody ever discloses.