Under the terms of the updates, which take effect on December 1st, celebrities that endorse products must reveal their relationship 

 

with an advertising firm if the marketing appears on social networks, something that could affect internet marketing consultants.

 

The revision - which is the first to be carried out by the FTC since 1980 - will mean an increase in marketing regulation on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

 

As well as this, bloggers and other "word-of-mouth marketers" that endorse products on their websites must also disclose any links to advertising firms.

 

Analyst at the Yankee Group Zeus Kerravala told CNN that the move is "great for consumers".

 

"There's some doubt about blogs now, because you don't really know whether they're unbiased or not," he remarked, adding that stricter regulation of marketing on the internet is "long overdue".

 

Marketing Sherpa recently told companies that use affiliate marketing to ensure they are complying with regulations, noting that 'flogs' - or fake blogs - have been used as promotional tools disguised as independent websites.