The US Federal Trade Commission has written to ninety celebrity ‘Influencers’ warning them not to use their fame and extensive social media followings to promote brands without indicating that it is a paid for or sponsored post – usually via the #ad or #spon hashtags.
Although the FTC did not disclose which celebrities received the warnings it is thought that they include Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Vanessa Hudgens and Lindsay Lohan who were all the subject of a complaint lodged by consumer watchdog Public Citizen regarding non-compliance with disclosure rules. http://www.promoveritas.com/
Authorities in the USA and the UK have been clear to stress that the laws requiring paid for messages to be clearly labelled as advertising (whether run in regular media, or social media or someone’s post, blog, or vlog) need to be applied more, and this latest publicity from the FTC is a forceful reminder to both celebrities and the brands and agencies behind them.
The FTC’s letter mainly referred to paid-for Instagram posts, and here are some of its suggestions: