I have a feeling I’ll be swatting flies on this FTC thing for the next couple of weeks to come. I feel like I’ve covered just about every aspect of the danger of the FTC guidelines, none of which have changed since our original analysis other than the penalty itself of $11k for violating bloggers.

In case you didn’t pick up on it yesterday, I think the new FTC rules are the biggest violation of constitutionally protected free speech in recent memory.

Most bloggers and podcasters disclose voluntarily. They’re generally self-regulating. Contrary to what Adam Ostrow said yesterday, there isn’t a secret cabal of non-disclosing journalistic bloggers on the web. If it’s relevant, a content producer will mention who paid for what.

If I choose not to disclose, though, that should be my right.  My reputation is mine to squander, and consumers aren’t harmed by that. The very nature of New Media is developed around the principals of ferreting out the truth, and the readers will participate freely in the blood sport of outing an unscrupulous blogger, if they suspect something is up.

The FTC has essentially made a land grab in the virtual world, assigning themselves arbiter of truth on the web. This set of guidelines gives them the latitude to investigate not only the veracity of what’s being said, but the finances of anyone who participates in online discussions.

I’ve said it dozens of times, and I’ll say it again: simply because you can monitor something doesn’t give you the right to do so. A blog is a communication medium from one or several authors to a larger community, which is almost directly analagous to the sociology of a neighborhood bar or cafe.  If the government had the ability to record, track and investigate every word uttered at a public cafe or bar, would you afford them that right since one of your buddies could be on someone’s payroll undisclosed?

…Or would you get incensed that the government is sticking it’s nose where it doesn’t belong?

If you’d like to read up on my positions, feel free to peruse through the following posts:

• The FTC is Opening a Hornet’s Nest [ANGLE Round-Up]
• FTC New Disclosure Guidelines, a Third Examination [Bloggers, Marketers and PR]
• FTC Blogola Roundup: The Jury Is Out
• /Backchan notes
• BlogHer ‘09: The Weaponizing of the Blogosphere

Louis Gray posted on the FTC kerfuffle today, though, and though his post took a neutral point of view, one paragraph stood out to me:

The FTC’s goal isn’t to track down that I got a free copy of Brian Solis’ book on Putting the Public Back in Public Relations (I did) or that I got a copy of the New Community Rules from Tamar Weinberg for free (I did). (Note I haven’t reviewed either one yet) The FTC doesn’t care that I have t-shirts I got free from Lijit (I’m wearing one now), or that I have free stickers on my laptop from companies including Seesmic, OneRiot, AllTop, TiVo, FriendFeed, Facebook,Blogger and Tweetmeme. But the FTC does care if an independent product review is really a paid review, or if a blogger "regularly" receives products from a company, which would cause the audience to "view their reviews differently". (Quotes sampled from Mary Engle, Associate Director for Advertising Practices at the FTC via BrianSolis.com)

The first sentence is the most important: “The FTC’s goal isn’t to track down that I got a free copy of Brian Solis’ book on Putting the Public Back in Public Relations (I did) or that I got a copy of the New Community Rules from Tamar Weinberg for free (I did).”

That is exactly the kind of thing that the FTC claims it’s trying to find out, if you believe the claims of the FTC’s Rich Cleland.

In a statement yesterday to the LA Times, Rich Cleland said:

"My initial reaction to that scenario [comped meals] is that disclosure would be required," says Rich Cleland of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

If you’re getting a free meal and talking about it online, you need to disclose who paid for it.

If they’re concerned about bloggers getting a free lunch, you better be sure they’re concerned about your stickers and your books.

This is a whole new world. It all belongs to the government, your speech included. You’re just living in it.

Keep an eye on this space.  I’m not letting go of this chunk of meat for quite a while.