The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued updated guidance on how influencers are able to promote products and services on social media.
The updated guidance is designed to ensure influencers are aware that any advertisements or sponsorship posted in association with brands must be explicitly disclosed to social media users so they can easily see that content is paid-for.
In the guidance, CAP notes that the main rules for influencers to note are the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code).
The guidance states, ‘The CPRs make ‘unfair commercial practices’ against the law. These include using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making it clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (advertorial).’
It continues, ‘Other unfair practices include falsely claiming or giving the impression that an individual is acting outside of their business purposes or falsely representing themselves as a consumer; failing to identify commercial intent behind a social media post; and omitting or hiding ‘material’ information (e.g. that you are an ambassador for a brand whose product you have posted about).’
Click here to read the full updated guidance.
