Senate Panel Probes Paid Blogger Problem

Cable television, the Internet, cellular phones and other handheld electronic devices have provided new opportunities for techniques like viral and word-of-mouth marketing that add new complexities to the government's job of monitoring deceptive advertising, Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck told the Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance Subcommittee on Tuesday. National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg said blogging, by its nature, has encouraged an explosion of discourse about practically every product available -- but the FTC needs to crack down on those who are cash in by writing favorably about a product.