SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
CONCERNING SPONSORS, BLOGGERS AND ENDORSEMENTS
Background and Purpose
GOOD BITE, LLC (“GOOD BITE”) and all of its past, present and future predecessors, successors, partners, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, employees, affiliates, assigns, officers, directors, shareholders, attorneys and agents (collectively, the “GOOD BITE Parties”) are committed to compliance with laws and regulations that govern the prevention of unfair, deceptive or misleading marketing practices and to enforcement of its own policies and practices, in particular in accordance with those certain Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (the “Guides”). (See 16 C.F.R. §§ 255.0–255.5.) In this regard, the GOOD BITE Parties hope to engender sincere trust and confidence between consumers, on the one hand, and sponsors and/or content creators, on the other hand. While the GOOD BITE Parties seek to conduct their business in accordance with Guides, the GOOD BITE Parties are obviously not agents or representatives of any governmental regulator or law enforcement agency, and their views are not intended to represent any formal or informal interpretations of any applicable laws or regulations.
Social Media Policy Required of the GOOD BITE Parties
As part of the Social Media Policy referenced herein, the GOOD BITE Parties have adopted the following standards:
Standard 1 – Compliance with FTC Guides
The GOOD BITE Parties will use all commercially reasonable efforts to comply with the Guides, at all times.
Standard 2 – Disclosure of Identity
The GOOD BITE Parties require their on-screen and textual talent, bloggers, authors, commentators and contributors (collectively, “Contributors”) to make meaningful disclosures of their material commercial relationships with sponsors, advertisers, marketers and/or their agencies and agents, if any (collectively, “Sponsors”), and vice versa, which might, absent such disclosure, otherwise influence the purchasing decisions of consumers, viewers or users (collectively, “Consumers”).
Standard 3 – Disclosure of Relationship
The GOOD BITE Parties require their Contributors involved in word of mouth marketing to disclose the material aspects of their commercial relationships with any Sponsor, including without limitation the specific type of any remuneration or consideration received (cash or in-kind).
Standard 4 – Disclosure of Consideration or Compensation Received
The GOOD BITE Parties require their Contributors to disclose meaningfully and prominently all forms of remuneration, consideration (cash or in-kind) or compensation (collectively, "Compensation") they received from the Sponsor of a product or service. Compensation shall include without limitation whether the product or service in question was provided for free by the Sponsor, the terms of any agreement, the length of the relationship, the previous receipt of products or services from the same or similar Sponsors, the likelihood of future receipt of such products or services, and the value of the items or services received. In this regard, the GOOD BITE Parties will not engage in or knowingly facilitate marketing practices where the Sponsor provides goods, services, or compensation to the Contributor as consideration for recommendations, reviews, or endorsements, unless full, meaningful, and prominent disclosure is provided.
Standard 5 – Guidance and Training to Representatives
The GOOD BITE Parties will provide guidance and training among themselves and to their Contributors, to ensure that statements Contributors make are truthful, substantiated and typical, whether on camera, in textual comments or blog posts or otherwise communicated in connection with GOOD BITE’s web properties and digital entertainment projects.
Standard 6 – Monitor Contributors
The GOOD BITE Parties will have the right, from time to time and in a commercially reasonably manner, to monitor their Contributors who are being paid, directly or indirectly, to promote Sponsor’s products and/or services or comment with respect thereto, and take necessary steps to halt publication of false or deceptive representations.
Standard 7 – Obtain Adequate Substantiation
The GOOD BITE Parties will have the right to seek material and adequate substantiation in support of efficacy claims made by Contributors and/or Sponsors concerning a Sponsor’s products and services, including, when appropriate, competent and reliable scientific evidence.
Standard 8 – Provide Generally Expected Results
The GOOD BITE Parties will not rely on a “results are not typical” disclosure in Contributor testimonials, and shall have the right, when a testimonial conveys that the Contributor’s results are what Consumers can generally expect to achieve and the GOOD BITE Parties do not possess adequate substantiation for the claim, to clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance in the depicted circumstances.
Standard 9 – Honesty in Communication
The GOOD BITE Parties will not tell their Contributors what to ultimately state in their communications about a particular Sponsor’s product or service, so as to enable the Contributor to reflect his or her honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences without influence.
Standard 10 – Disclosure of Corporate-Sponsored Research
The GOOD BITE Parties will have the right to disclose any links between a Sponsor and any applicable research organization if a Contributor or Sponsor’s communications refer to findings of corporate-sponsored research in support of the Sponsor’s products or services.
Standard 11 – Respect for Venue
The GOOD BITE Parties will respect the rights of any third-party online or offline communications venue, apart from any such venue owned or operated by the GOOD BITE Parties, such as a web site, blog, discussion forum, traditional media, and live setting, to create and enforce its own social media policy and related rules as it sees fit.
Standard 12 – Marketing to Children and Adolescents
The GOOD BITE Parties will not knowingly include children under the age of 13 in any of word of mouth marketing programs or campaigns involving Contributors and Sponsors; and will use all commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable laws dealing with minors and marketing, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). See 16 C.F.R. § 312.
Standard 13 – Compliance with Media-Specific Rules
The GOOD BITE Parties will use all commercially reasonable efforts to comply with existing media-specific rules regarding marketing to children.
