Influencer Guidelines

The following guidelines shall be followed by Influencers engaged by Company to promote its brands or products. If you have questions about Company or its products, please reach out to your Company marketing contact.

1) You must comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s (the “FTC”) Guides Concerning Endorsements and Testimonials (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-255) (if applicable) , including making:

a) statements that reflect your honest beliefs, opinions, and experiences; and
b) clear and conspicuous disclosure about your connection to us in all of your posts, making it clear that you are a paid influencer and have received free products/services/travel/other incentive (if any) . You must place the disclosure in plain sight in close proximity to any audio or visual communications that you make about Company, the brands, and products or services and it must be unavoidable. You must not bury the disclosure in a link or place the disclosure in a string of hashtags or other disclosures. We require this disclosure regardless of any space limitations of the platform, where you can use hashtags for the disclosure (like #ad or #sponsored) . If a platform does not allow for a clear and conspicuous disclosure, you should not use that platform.

2) You must participate in any training we require which is designed to ensure compliance with FTC’s guides (if applicable) .

3) To better understand your responsibilities under the Endorsement Guides, you must review:

a) The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking) .
b) FTC: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers) .
c) FTC: Do you endorse things on social media? (https://www.ftc.gov/media/71405) .

4) You must not:

a) make deceptive or misleading claims about our products/services or our competitors’ products or services;
b) make any claims about our products/services or our competitors’ products or services that are not backed up by evidence;
c) disclose any of our confidential information;
d) disparage Plaud or our brands, products and services;
e) engage in any communication that is defamatory or infringes upon the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual property rights of others;
f) offer for sale or solicit products on behalf of Plaud;
g) make offensive comments that have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating or hostile environment;
h) post content that promotes bigotry, racism, or discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age;
i) use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or other offensive language; and
j) make any comments or post any content that in any way promotes unsafe activities that could lead to an unsafe situation involving Company’s consumers or other individuals.

5) You must adhere to:

a) the posted policies, guidelines, and terms of use on any platform on which you post content on behalf of Company, understanding that any these platforms’ disclosure requirements about your connection to us do not necessarily satisfy FTC disclosure requirements (if applicable) ; and
b) any additional guidelines provided by Company, such as product-specific program requirements and our Social Media Endorsement Policy.

6) You must not create fake followers or engagement on social media platforms, such as:

a) buying followers;
b) using bots to grow audience size by automating account creation, following, commenting, and liking; or
c) post fake sponsored content.

7) You must follow the guidelines below:

a) DO make sure that the content you post complies with the Company’s marketing campaign and objectives.
b) DO make sure that Company’s products are shown being used in the manner specified, directed or intended by the Company.
c) DO spread the word if you like our products.
d) DO tell us if you don’t like one of our products. Telling us why will help us improve.
e) DON’T show the products in a way that will confuse your audience. For example, it should be clear that the products are the Company’s products and are being used in the manner specified by the Company.
f) DON’T say anything hateful, obscene, indecent or defamatory on your blog or social media channel.
g) DON’T use the Company’s name, logo or any of our brand names or logos for any purpose other than product reviews unless you have our permission.

8) Promotional Content Restrictions (Anti-Surveillance)

You must not, directly or indirectly, in any medium or format (including, but not limited to, verbal statements, written copy, social media captions, video demonstrations, imagery, or metadata/keywords) , market, position, or otherwise describe the Company’s product (the “Product”) in a manner that:

a) Implies Illicit or Covert Use: Explicitly or implicitly positions the Product as a tool for eavesdropping, surveillance, illicit recording, interception, unauthorized monitoring, or any other form of covert data capture of any third party.
b) Encourages Misconduct: Encourages, suggests, or depicts the Product being used in violation of any applicable laws regarding privacy, consent-to-record, wiretapping, or intellectual property rights.
c) Focuses on Secret Operation: Describes or promotes any feature of the Product primarily by emphasizing its ability to capture data or record conversations covertly, secretly, or without the explicit knowledge and consent of all participants.
d) Uses Prohibited Terminology: Employs the terms “spy,” “spying,” “covert recorder,” “secret surveillance,” “hidden listening device,” or any functionally similar term in the Product’s title, description, promotional tags (e.g., hashtags, keywords) , or voiceovers.