The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which were put into force on 28th May, were meant to prevent companies from misleading consumers with things like fake blogs and fake comments. But how many people are actually aware of the act and know that leaving fake comments is illegal? Companies need to train their employees and webmasters need to make their visitors aware that writing false comments is against the law.

With many review sites becoming popular online, astroturfing could be a lot more widespread than we realise. If you read a review of a TV or a restaurant (gastroturfing if you will) how do you know they weren’t made by a company to improve its image or damage that of its competitors. Then again as Stuart Bruce points out they could have been made by a nutty fan.

No longer just unethical PR practise, flogs will soon be illegal in the UK. Thanks to the ‘Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008′ it will be against the law for companies to mislead the public with fake blogs from the 28th May. It’s a great move and one which I hope will see the PR industry continue to move away from it’s image of lies and spin. After all deceiving your customers can’t be a fantastic way to encourage brand loyalty and trust. Or a great way to use a PR budget.