FTC Warnings to Endorsers on Instagram Unheeded, Says Groups
Influencers and marketers aren't heeding FTC warnings about disclosing their relationships to brands when promoting products on Instagram, said Public Citizen and other organizations in a Monday news release, prompting the groups to again complain to the agency. More than…
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two months ago, the FTC sent out more than 90 letters to influencers and marketers as reminders they should reveal material connections between themselves and advertisers unless it's already clear from the context of the communication (see 1704190031). Public Citizen said that from May 1 to June 12 it tracked 46 Instagram influencers who received the FTC letter and found that "only one fully and consistently complied" with agency policy. "In total, 327 (79 percent) of the 412 advertisements posted by the 46 influencers did not comply with FTC standards," said Public Citizen. The group, along with Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, sent a letter to the FTC asking it to enforce the guidelines and seek penalties. "The FTC must demonstrate that there will be consequences for failure to follow the FTC’s guidelines," said the letter. It said the commission should work with Instagram to create a system "to denote paid posts consistent with" those guidelines. An FTC spokesman emailed that the agency is reviewing the groups' letter.