Regulated Marketing Online
Written by Jack Knollson | 21 January 2010
A recent Gartner press release says that people will soon become so fed up with the marketing noise on the Internet that policy makers will be forced to create rules to regulate online marketing activities. What does that mean?
We are all bothered by spam and pop-up ads, but the shadow of government regulation on the freedom of marketing speech looks dark and terrible.
What policies would you make? Here are a few possibilities, but note that I am neither advocating nor predicting these policies.
1. Steep fines for Marketing Spam or unwanted email
2. Jail time (without Internet access) for Marketing Spyware
3. ISP shut-downs for hosting websites that make false product claims
4. Internet exile for companies that post 'invented' testimonials
5. Community service for recommending products for money
6. Public flogging for pop-ups or blinking banner ads
7. Banned attendance at SES for spoofing the search engines
8. Laws requiring Marketers to admit what their products cannot do
Use the comments below to add some more. I will put them alltogether later.