The Associated Press has reported that with guidelines, expected to be released later this summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intends cracking down on blogosphere payola - the guidelines will help FTC penalize bloggers who promote products, without disclosing sufficient details about them.

Targeting such individuals, the FTC would take some kind of action against them - even including those Twitter users who endorse certain products without revealing the fact that they have been paid for the promotional activity they undertake.

Remarking that the guidelines would result in the much-required uniformity to the blogosphere, supporters noted that the attempt by FTC will bring in some accountability from the bloggers for the content they produce. The move will basically seek to prevent organizations from paying bloggers to back their products or services, making them appear as objective observations.

While critics are of the opinion that the FTC interference may limit the open nature of blog content, supporters of the imminent guidelines say that FTC will not prohibit blogger endorsement, but will mainly analyze the authenticity of the endorser. Commenting in support of the move, Rich Cleland - FTC's advertising practices unit's assistant director - said: "Online if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice, and they have an economic motive for what they're saying, that's information a consumer should know."