She adds, "What we say is that it should be easily seen or viewed (or heard in the case of audio) by the consumer or by the viewer. It should be made within the endorsement message, and within the review. We don't prescribe particular words or phrases that need to be used, but some people might say 'this is a compensated review,' or 'I got this free to try.'" Given that embedded YouTube videos do not display the description of a video below them, this means that burying disclosure in the description is not acceptable. "It should basically be unavoidable by the viewer," Engle adds -- and if it's not, the FTC can step in to investigate the YouTuber. "The FTC can conduct an investigation to look at what's happening, and determine whether we think there is a violation of the FTC act," she says. "We certainly welcome any complaints -- a lot of our investigations are the results of tips from consumers or reporters." "If we do bring an investigation, it may or may not turn into a case where the company would be under order," Engle concludes. "It varies a lot with the particular facts." What percentage of YouTubers are actually taking money from publishers to talk about games? Gamasutra has investigated the movement in-depth."What we say is that it should be easily seen or viewed... It should basically be unavoidable by the viewer."
Here's what the feds have to say about paid YouTube content
The Federal Trade Commission has told us that those YouTubers who are paid by publishers to advertise their games must provide clear, obvious disclosure in videos.