OFT - Office Of Fair Tweeting?

A recent investigation by the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") into the conduct of Handpicked Media ("the company") raises some interesting legal issues surrounding online advertising, particularly in relation to product endorsement through social media.

Handpicked Media is a collective of independent websites and blogs.  In July last year, the company found itself subject to an OFT investigation into its advertising practices.

The company had engaged individuals to promote the goods and services of their clients online, including, for example, through the posting of endorsing tweets on Twitter.  However, it was not this practice, per se, that the OFT took exception to – rather, they objected to the absence of express notification that the tweets were indeed "paid for" endorsements.