Reverb Communications, the public relations agency used by Harmonix, MTV Games, 505 Games and CDV Software, has decided to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges that the company posted favorable iTunes reviews of the products it was paid to promote.

According to an FTC statement, the company posted reviews of games developed by their clients using "account names that gave readers the impression the reviewers were written by disinterested consumers." Terms of the ruling state that Reverb must remove all questionable reviews and disclose the company's connection to the products in the future. Read more »

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the latest revisions to its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising," revealing that "bloggers" and other "word-of-mouth" endorsers must now disclose "connections that consumers would not expect," such as free product or cash in exchange for review.

The announcement did not provide a specific definition of "blogger," leaving it unclear what effect this will have in the arena of video game reviews, news, and professional blogging in general--a field where free review copies and paid trips are commonplace. It was likewise unspecified how writers are to properly disclose "material connections." Read more »