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Undisclosed affiliate relationships are against the law in the US: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-

• tcd 7y ago
  So is what Equifax did, but guess what, they're still in business. You can see the "settlement" at [1]. And guess what? "Whether or not you choose to get free credit monitoring from Equifax, the company will continue to collect information about you." In other words: "Even though we got hacked, we're still going to collect your information so it can get leaked again, lolz". Awesome FTC right there. [1]: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/eq...
• jonaharagon 7y ago
  The problem with a lot of these affiliate sites (which I alluded to in the conclusion of the article but perhaps didn't spend quite enough time on) is that they provide a small disclosure of their relationships in their footer or in the article. But they do it as inconspicuously as possible to avoid the drawbacks of disclosing anything. I have a lot more respect for the sites that prominently disclose their relationships, like Wirecutter. Most of these sites are a business, they've gotta make money somehow. But IMO most readers aren't seeking out such disclosures automatically when they see a "review", so the hidden-in-the-footer nonsense is entirely useless.