Four out of five social media influencers do not disclose paid content, according to a new report from the European Commission.
Why we care If an influencer doesn’t clearly state that a post is an ad, not only are they violating advertising guidelines, but both the influencer and the brand they’re promoting could be. break the law.
Legal requirements. In the European Union, consumer laws require influencers to be transparent in their posts. They should not provide false or misleading information about products or services covered by the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. If an influencer is making money or benefits from promoting a brand’s products or services in a post, they must disclose it as advertising.
Additionally, influencers who sell their own products or services are subject to the same legal responsibilities as online stores. This includes providing consumers with the necessary legal safeguards and withdrawal rights as set out in the Consumer Rights Directive.
the report The European Commission analyzed the posts of 576 influential people on unspecified major social media platforms. He reported the following findings:
Of all influencers, 97% shared posts with commercial content, but only 20% consistently disclosed that the content was actually advertising. 30% of influencers did not include any company details such as email address, company name, postal address or registration number in their posts. 38% of influencers did not use platform tags intended to reveal commercial content, such as the “paid partnership” option on Instagram. Instead, they chose alternative terms such as “collaboration” (16%), “partnership” (15%) or expressing appreciation for the associated brand generically (11%). 40% of influencers ensured that disclosure remained visible throughout all business communication. Additionally, 34% of influencer profiles displayed the disclosure immediately without requiring additional steps such as clicking “read more” or scrolling down. Of the influencers surveyed, 40% promoted their own products, services or brands. Of this group, 60% did not disclose consistently or at all that their content was advertising.
What the European Commission says. The European Commission said in a statement:
“EU consumer legislation states that commercial communications must be transparent. In their posts, influencers must not mislead consumers with false or untruthful information about the promoted products or services that fall under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.” “Any promotion of a brand’s products or services in a post that earns your influencer income or other types of benefits must be disclosed as advertising activity. “Furthermore, influencers selling products or services on their own have the same legal obligations as online shops, such as providing consumers with legal guarantees or withdrawal rights as required by the Consumer Rights Directive.
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About the author
Nicola Agius is Search Engine Land’s paid media editor after joining in 2023. She covers paid media, retail media and more. Prior to that, she was Director of SEO at Jungle Creations (2020-2023), overseeing the company’s editorial strategy for various websites. He has more than 15 years of experience in journalism and previously worked at OK! Magazine (2010-2014), Mail Online (2014-2015), Mirror (2015-2017), Digital Spy (2017-2018) and The Sun (2018-2020). He also previously partnered with SEO agency Blue Array to co-author the Amazon best-selling book Mastering In-House SEO.
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