Washington – Reverb Communications, a public relations firm
that serves video game companies, has settled charges from the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) that it posted phony reviews for its clients’ products on
Apples iTunes Store.
The FTC said that Twain Harte, Calif.-based Reverb and
owner Tracie Snitker posted reviews for clients’ mobile games available on
Apple’s App Store, giving the impression they came from independent consumers
while failing to disclose the authors’ connection with the game developers.
"Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting
a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial
connections to sellers," said Mary Engle, director of the FTC’s division
of advertising practices.
Reverb does not admit guilt in the proposed settlement,
under which it agreed to stop posting iTunes reviews for clients’ products that
do not disclose a connection to the agency.
Reverb’s Snitker told CNET News.com
that the reviews in question were posted by Reverb employees who had used their
own money to purchase clients’ games on their own iPhones.
Related Links:
http://ftc.gov/opa/2010/08/reverb.shtm
I think the FTC will research more on this. As a developer, we worked with apple contacts. They, Andy Hess and his boss, highly recommend that we use reverb so that we can get a good spot on the appstore.
If I were the FTC, I would discuss with Apple in making the names of the emails and reviews more transparent. It is very frustrating when those with big resources have their employees and pr agency to write false reviews.
Good luck
Reverb Statement:
During discussions with the FTC, it became apparent that we would never agree on the facts of the situation. Rather than continuing to spend time and money arguing, and laying off employees to fight what we believed was a frivolous matter, we settled this case and ended the discussion because as the FTC states: ‘The consent agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute admission by the respondents of a law violation.’
This issue was specific to a handful of small, independently developed iPhone apps that several team members downloaded onto their personal iPhones in their own time using their own money and accounts, a right and privilege afforded to every iPhone and iTouch user. Any iTunes user will understand that each time a product is purchased you are allowed to post one comment per product. Seven out of our 16 employees purchased games which Reverb had been working on and to this the FTC dedicated an investigation. These posts were neither mandated by Reverb nor connected to our policies. Bottom line, these allegations are old, this situation was settled awhile ago and had nothing to do with the clients that many outlets have been reporting. The FTC has continuously made statements that the reviews are “fake reviews” something we question; if a person plays the game and posts one review based on their own opinion about the game should that be constituted as “fake?” The FTC should evaluate if personal posts by these employees justifies this type of time, money and investigation. It’s become apparent to Reverb that this disagreement with the FTC is being used to communicate their new posting policy. We stand by the statement from the FTC that: ‘The consent agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute admission by the respondents of a law violation.’
I think the FTC will research more on this. As a developer, we worked with apple contacts. They, Andy Hess and his boss, highly recommend that we use reverb so that we can get a good spot on the appstore.
If I were the FTC, I would discuss with Apple in making the names of the emails and reviews more transparent. It is very frustrating when those with big resources have their employees and pr agency to write false reviews.
Good luck