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As of yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will now be watching the online space for signs that advertisers masquerading as independent third parties might be taking advantage of the millions of consumers whose buying decisions are increasingly shaped by social media. The FTC will be monitoring blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and myriad other platforms for violations of new rules aimed at infusing greater corporate transparency online.

Among the practices long frowned upon in the social media sphere that are now on the FTC’s radar are: “flogging,” or creating supposedly-objective blogs that serve only to promote a product or service; “astroturfing,” where advertisers posing as ordinary consumers share raving, but often misleading, reviews; and paying social media users to knowingly post inaccurate information about a product or service.

Most important, social media users – from celebrity spokespeople to everyday consumers – who are paid to post accurate information about a product or service will now be required to disclose their deals and could be held personally liable if they don’t. If you think the character limit that sites such as Twitter enforce will get you off the hook; think again. As the Associate Director of the FTC’s advertising division, Richard Cleland, has said, “If you can’t make the disclosure, you can’t make the ad.”

What might be the most challenging aspect of the new regulatory environment is a measure requiring companies to discover and correct misinformation posted to social media sites. With more than 350 million people on Facebook, more than 27 million tweets per day, and more than 118 million active blogs worldwide, this is no small task and could very well be the one new rules that lands most companies in hot water.

As such, companies that haven’t done so already must establish a comprehensive social and digital media monitoring campaign to ensure they know what’s being said about them in the online space so they can correct the record as quickly as possible should misinformation arise.

Monitor, engage, and be transparent; these have always been words to sell by in the digital space. Now that the FTC is keeping a closer eye on your social media marketing activities than ever before, they’re also the best way to steer clear of the legal and brand liabilities that noncompliance could create.

Dallas Lawrence is Chair of the Social and Digital Media Practice at Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm. He blogs on emerging digital media trends and best practices for social media engagement on BulletProof. Connect with him @dallaslawrence.

**UPDATE 12/16/09: For more details on how businesses can ensure compliance with these new FTC regulations, please see my piece in Mashable today.