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FTC's Letter to Paid 'Influencers'

By C. Ryan Barber
May 02, 2017

In the digital age, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been keeping tabs on the growing trend of brands hiring so-called “influencers” — athletes, celebrities and others with large followings — to promote their products on social media.

The consumer agency has taken the view that advertisement without proper disclosures can mislead consumers and has put the burden of ensuring proper disclosure on the brands. Last year, the FTC reached a settlement with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment over a lack of disclosures for paid promotions of video game Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. (See, “FTC Settles with Warner over 'Paid Influencers',” in our August 2016 issue.) But it did go after the likes of the popular YouTube personality “PewDiePie” and other influencers who were paid for positive videos and social media posts about the game.

In April 2017, the FTC turned its attention downstream to the “influencers” themselves. The federal agency sent 90 letters to influencers and marketers informing them of their responsibility to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose the business relationships behind social media posts. For influencers, a “material connection” to a brand could be a payment, a business or family relationship or the provision of a free product.

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