US DMA releases new viral marketing guidelines

The American Direct Marketing Association has released new rules for online referral, or viral marketing. The new guidelines call on viral marketers to disclose or make available the referring consumer's identity at no cost. Marketers must also inform referring consumers of the intended use of the information and that their personal information would be disclosed to the people they refer. The association's new ethics guidelines are available at the-dma.org/guidelines/ethicalguidelines.shtml#online.