iLoungeiLounge
  • News
    • Apple
      • AirPods Pro
      • AirPlay
      • Apps
        • Apple Music
      • iCloud
      • iTunes
      • HealthKit
      • HomeKit
      • HomePod
      • iOS 13
      • Apple Pay
      • Apple TV
      • Siri
    • Rumors
    • Humor
    • Technology
      • CES
    • Daily Deals
    • Articles
    • Web Stories
  • iPhone
    • iPhone Accessories
  • iPad
  • iPod
    • iPod Accessories
  • Apple Watch
    • Apple Watch Accessories
  • Mac
    • MacBook Air
    • MacBook Pro
  • Reviews
    • App Reviews
  • How-to
    • Ask iLounge
Font ResizerAa
iLoungeiLounge
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • News
    • Apple
    • Rumors
    • Humor
    • Technology
    • Daily Deals
    • Articles
    • Web Stories
  • iPhone
    • iPhone Accessories
  • iPad
  • iPod
    • iPod Accessories
  • Apple Watch
    • Apple Watch Accessories
  • Mac
    • MacBook Air
    • MacBook Pro
  • Reviews
    • App Reviews
  • How-to
    • Ask iLounge
Follow US

News

News

Great News: The FTC Finally Requires Payment-For-Review Disclosures

Last updated: May 15, 2021 9:57 am UTC
By Jeremy Horwitz

Jesse Hollington forwarded over a link and quick comments on something that we can only describe as “great news” for those of us who care about the integrity of product reviews generally, and on the Internet specifically. As I’m busy working on the 2010 Buyers’ Guide, I wanted to just post Jesse’s comments and add one or two of my own for the time being.

Advertisements

The link: FTC: Bloggers Must Disclose Payments For Reviews.

The summary: Effective December 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission requires bloggers to clearly note the freebies or payments they’ve received for reviewing companies’ products.

Jesse’s comments: “I realize it doesn’t affect us, and the fact that it doesn’t is in many ways a testament to the quality of our organization. It will be interesting to see how it affects certain other sites out there, however.”

My comments: Jesse’s correct.

First, iLounge isn’t a blog. Second, we’ve never taken a payment or a freebie in exchange for writing a review. Third, we are thrilled to see the FTC working on behalf of consumers to create transparency in product coverage, which has been plagued by tons of faked/compensated reviews over the last five or so years.

Advertisements

iLounge has a unique operating structure that was designed to avoid the exact sorts of problems that the FTC is focusing on. Our publisher owns iLounge outright, but does not write product reviews; by contrast, our editors and reviewers have no ownership stake in the company or site. The editorial side of iLounge covers whatever is purchased by or sent to iLounge that we feel is worthy of coverage, but as editors, we do not own anything that is acquired by the organization.

Advertisements

Additionally, iLounge has never sold items received for coverage, or traded them for other items. iLounge even purchases all the iPods and iPhones we review—a substantial expense given how many we buy every year (10 iPod nanos? Sure, why not?), and a major differentiator from publications that receive items directly from Apple.

As you may or may not already know, this is different from many publications—online and print—where the person who owns the publication is also reviewing products. Some publications explicitly expect payments in exchange for coverage. Others only review products that they are sent, and then with the expectation that they will be able to keep or sell the items afterwards for cash. In our experience, these practices lead to obvious reviewer biases in favor of that which is heavily compensated for, or merely expensive; this is part of the reason you see so many “sure, it’s overpriced, but I love it!” reviews out there.

Advertisements

Latest News
The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 256GB is $150 Off
The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 256GB is $150 Off
1 Min Read
New Google Pixel 10 to Debut on August 20
New Google Pixel 10 to Debut on August 20
1 Min Read
More Countries Get AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Test and Hearing Aid Functionality
More Countries Get AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Test and Hearing Aid Functionality
1 Min Read
Resident Evil: Survival Unit Pre-Orders Go Live on App Store
Resident Evil: Survival Unit Pre-Orders Go Live on App Store
1 Min Read
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $149 Off
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $149 Off
1 Min Read
watchOS 11.6, tvOS 18.6, and visionOS 2.6 Receive Third Betas
watchOS 11.6, tvOS 18.6, and visionOS 2.6 Receive Third Betas
1 Min Read
New ‘Orange’ Color Arriving to the iPhone 17 Pro
New ‘Orange’ Color Arriving to the iPhone 17 Pro
1 Min Read
‘Sky Blue’ Color Headed to iPhone 17 Air
‘Sky Blue’ Color Headed to iPhone 17 Air
1 Min Read
The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 256GB is $150 Off
The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 256GB is $150 Off
1 Min Read
New Dynamic Island to Have ‘Significant’ Upgrades
New Dynamic Island to Have ‘Significant’ Upgrades
1 Min Read
Samsung Might Not Include a ‘Plus’ Phone Model Next Year
Samsung Might Not Include a ‘Plus’ Phone Model Next Year
1 Min Read
The 128GB iPad Mini 7 Wi-Fi is $120 Off
The 128GB iPad Mini 7 Wi-Fi is $120 Off
1 Min Read

iLounge logo

iLounge is an independent resource for all things iPod, iPhone, iPad, and beyond. iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc.

This website is not affiliated with Apple Inc.
iLounge © 2001 - 2025. All Rights Reserved.
  • Contact Us
  • Submit News
  • About Us
  • Forums
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?