Islam in Europe - Commentary by Snouck

A big fall

Well, I had started to despair but finally a vulonteer managed to help me to regain the islanmineurope.net domain and get the blog back online again. The ranking for search phrase "islam in europe" fell from position 6 to position 177.

A lot happened while the blog was unavailable, most notably the end of the prosecution of Geert Wilders which ended in a victory for him. And unfortunately I was not able to add my two cents. I hope it will not happen again.

The number of posts on this blog is now eight hundred.

South African Blogger Uhuru Guru arrested

In a move that reminds Dutchmen of the arrest of Dutch cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot the South African police arrested blogger Uhuru Guru of the South Africa S***s blog.

The blogger was incarcerated in a cell with Black* thiefs and murderers for 30 hours before being released.

* It is a good thing that race does not matter.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new guidelines limiting the freedom of US bloggers. The caps are on freedom are in the field of endorsement. For instance on reviewing a book or a movie.

October 10, 2009
Wake Up! - The FTC is screwing with bloggers

If you are a blogger in the US your life is about to change big-time.

You have just entered the Twilight Zone...

New FTC guidelines (read full version) described in the official press release state:

1 - "the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

and

2 - the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement - or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media."

My reading of this is very disturbing.

Here is a possible scenario:

1. You - a "social media" "celebrity" "blogger" (this is anyone who has more than a few followers on Twitter or some number of subscribers to their blog RSS feed) reviews a book, product, or service - making it an "endorsement"
2. You got a copy of the book to review, or got a free trial of the product, or a free trial of the service
3. You did not mention the freebie in your blog post
4. If someone does not like your blog posting you can be sued

Read more at Search Engine Watch.

Blogger officially vacuums.

I can not even comment on my own blog.