Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Civil Liberties

Will the FTC Start Keeping Up With Kim Kardashian's Twitter Sponsorships?

Peter Suderman | 12.31.2009 1:35 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Bootlylicious celebrity personality Kim Kardashian is reportedly padding her wallet these days via sorta-secret paid endorsements on the brain-blip micro-blogging service, Twitter. Kardashian supposedly rakes in an astounding $10,000 per sponsored Tweet. Thanks to new disclosure rules on paid Internet endorsements, those undisclosed sponsors could get Kardashian in trouble with the FTC, which could fine her up to $11,000 per infringement.

Yet as The Big Money's Mark Gimein argues at his depressingly-not-hot-dog-themed blog, The Sausage, "it's hard to get too riled up about it; protecting folks from Kardashian's sponsored fashion advice seems beyond the scope of what the government can reasonably be expected to do." And anyway, it's tough to argue that there's anything terribly misleading going on: Reading her Tweets, it's plenty easy to tell who many of the sponsors are: Reebok, the DASH fashion boutique, and Carl's Jr., a fast-food joint that also pays Kardashian to appear in commercials that the Huffington Post (somewhat accurately) describes as "salad porn":

Follow sponsor-free endorsements and news from Reason's staff on the Twitter here. And for more on the idiocy of the FTC's new disclosure rules, read Matt Welch, Tim Cavanaugh, and yours truly.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Memo to the House

Peter Suderman is features editor at Reason.

Civil LibertiesCultureMediaAdvertisingFree Speech
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (57)

Latest

The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 4:57 PM

Is Shiloh Hendrix Really the End of Cancel Culture?

Robby Soave | 5.8.2025 4:10 PM

Good Riddance to Ed Martin, Trump's Failed Pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.8.2025 3:55 PM

Trump's Tariffs Are Already Raising Car Prices and Hurting Automakers

Joe Lancaster | 5.8.2025 2:35 PM

Trump's Antitrust Enforcer Says 'Big Is Bad'

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 2:19 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!