The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent more than 90 letters to celebrities, athletes and other influencers – as well as to marketers – highlighting the need for influencers to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose their relationships to brands when they promote or endorse them on social media. The FTC letters mark the first time that the FTC has reached out directly to social media influencers, indicating that influencers could be subject to their own FTC actions if they fail to disclose their relationships on social media.

FTC’S ENDORSEMENT GUIDES

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides, which apply to endorsers and marketers, provide that if there is a “material connection” between an endorser and the marketer of a product that might affect the weight or credibility that consumers give an endorsement, that connection should be “clearly and conspicuously” disclosed. A material connection includes a business or family relationship, a monetary payment and even the provision of free products to an endorser.

FTC’S LETTERS

The FTC learned about the posts after receiving petitions from Public Citizen and related organizations, and sent the letters after reviewing a sample of Instagram posts by influencers making endorsements or referencing brands without any disclosures. Notably, before sending the letters, the FTC did not conduct an investigation to determine whether the brand mentions in the posts were sponsored or organic.

Read more: http://www.ilnipinsider.com/2017/04/ftc-tells-influencers-to-disclose-connections-on-social-media/