The Federal Trade Commission ironed out an agreement with advertising agency Deutsch LA concerning charges that employees of the Interpublic unit used their personal Twitter accounts to plug client Sony Computer Entertainment's Playstation Vita product without disclosing their connection to either party.

ftcThe allegations say Deutsch LA staffers promoted Vita's "cross platform gaming" or "cross-save" feature, which is available only on the PS.

An agency employee, according to the complaint, sent a companywide email asking colleagues to post positive comments about the hand-held console on Twitter using the "#game-changer"hashtag of the advertising campaign.

The FTC maintains "the tweets were misleading, as they did not reflect the views of actual consumers who had used the PS Vita, and because they did not disclose that they were written by employees of Deutsch LA."

The settlement agreement bars Sony and Deutsch LA from "making similar misrepresentations in the future when promoting the features or capabilities of handheld gaming consoles."

Deutsch LA also is banned "from misrepresenting that an endorser of any game console product or video game product is an independent user or ordinary consumers of the product."

The ad agency is required "to disclose a material connection, where one exists, between any endorser of a game console product or video game product and Deutsch LA or other entity involved in the manufacture of marketing of the product."

Jessica Rich, director of the agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the federal watchdog "will not hesitate to act on behalf of consumers when companies or advertisers make false product claims."

Deutsch LA claims to be satisfied with the settlement, noting that it did not admit to any violation of the law and sought to resolve all open issues to avoid protracted legal proceedings.