Wondering how to keep your business compliant in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape? Explore our latest guide on the FTC’s new regulations against fake social media indicators and reviews, and discover how to foster genuine connections and trust with your audience.
The FTC’s New Rule Targeting Fake Social Media Influence: A New Era in the Digital World
Digital marketing has grown at an incredible pace in recent years, and it continues to expand every day. Social media and the frenzy of interactions it brings have been the biggest driving forces behind this growth. However, this power can sometimes lead to harmful outcomes when misused. Users sometimes resort to fake indicators and reviews on their accounts, either just to increase their interactions and become more recognizable or, in worse cases, for more malicious reasons. These indicators manifest as fake followers or likes for smaller accounts, while for larger accounts that make money through social media, fake reviews are used.
Today, the number of accounts using fake indicators and reviews has increased so much that fake social media indicators and fake reviews have become one of the most common methods used to manipulate consumers’ decisions. This situation has also led to the emergence of a vast commercial sector built on deceiving users. The new final rule (“final rule”) issued by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), which operates in the United States and aims to prevent unfair competition, targets these manipulations.
Beyond banning the sale and distribution of fake social media indicators and fake reviews, the FTC’s rule aims to impose severe sanctions on businesses that use these deceptive methods.
Another important aspect of this rule is that businesses will be held accountable not only for banning fake reviews and fake social media indicators but also for concealing or suppressing such practices. If a business resorts to fraudulent methods to suppress negative comments about itself or publish fake positive reviews, the FTC will penalize this as well.
A noteworthy point regarding the rule is the scope of the FTC’s definition of “fakeness.” According to the FTC, indicators generated by bot accounts, so-called individual accounts with no real person behind them, accounts created without the consent of a real person using their information, and compromised accounts are defined as fake. Based on this definition, there is no prohibition on the buying and selling of accounts managed by real people or using such “organic” accounts in any transaction not prohibited under the rule.
In conclusion, the FTC’s new rule marks the beginning of a new era in the digital marketing world. This rule, which ends the era of strategies involving the use of fake accounts, ushers in a new period where the use or trade of organic followers is possible.
Discover our latest insights on the FTC’s new rules against fake reviews and social media indicators, and learn how to build trust in your online business. If you have any questions or need guidance on this topic, feel free to reach out to us!
