The Office of Fair Trading has confirmed its view that paid-for content about any services or products must be clearly identified so that people are not misled. According to the OFT’s website, any online practices that do not disclose they include these kinds of promotions are deceptive under fair trading laws and this covers all kinds of social media, including Twitter.

The issue of paid-for content has arisen following the OFT’s investigation of commercial blogging network, Handpicked Media. The body found that blog posts and tweets from the network promoted clients without making it clear that the content had actually been paid for.

This case has now set a precedent for future enforcement action and shows the OFT’s determination to act in the online communications and marketing space.

In a recent statement Heather Clayton, Senior Director of OFT’s Consumer Group, said that as the importance of online advertising grows, the OFT will be learning more about this area to ensure that the law is clear.

She added, “we expect online advertising and marketing campaigns to be transparent so consumers can clearly tell when blogs, posts and microblogs have been published in return for payment or payment in kind. We expect this to include promotions for products and services as well as editorial content.”

This latest case will certainly set a precedent when future issues arise. Judging from the OFT’s recent commitment to online practices, it seems others could certainly be pulled up for lack of transparency in the near future.

If content has been paid-for, these details need to be made crystal clear to readers regardless of the platform. This results of this latest case could certainly cause problems for those who haven’t already been disclosing this kind of information. However, it will have a positive effect on online content. Increased transparency will help brands, organisations and bloggers alike to maintain a strong reputation and have even more credibility in the space.

Image via Steakpinball’s Flickr Stream

Tags: handpicked media, heather clayton, legal implications, office of fair trading, OFT, paid for content, transparency