(BRUSSELS) – Only one in five influencers posting commercial content online systematically label it as advertising, according to a ‘sweep’ of social media influencer posts, the EU Commission reported Wednesday.
The results of the ‘sweep’ of social media posts from influencers – released by the Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 22 EU Member States, and Norway and Iceland – found nearly all (97%) of these influencers posted commercial content but only one in five systematically indicated that their content was advertising.
The aim of the sweep was to verify whether influencers disclose their advertising activities, which is required under EU consumer law. Posts of 576 influencers published on major social media platforms were checked.
The sweep’s findings
- 97% published posts with commercial content, but only 20% systematically disclosed this as advertising;
- 78% of the verified influencers were exercising a commercial activity; however only 36% were registered as traders at national level;
- 30% did not provide any company details on their posts, such as e-mail address, company name, postal address or registration number;
- 38% of them did not use the platform labels that serve to disclose commercial content, such as the “paid partnership” toggle on Instagram, on the contrary, these influencers opted for different wording, such as “collaboration” (16%), “partnership” (15%) or generic thanks to the partner brand (11%,);
- 40% of the checked influencers made the disclosure visible during the entire commercial communication. 34% of influencers’ profiles made the disclosure immediately visible without needing additional steps, such as by clicking on “read more” or by scrolling down;
- 40% of influencers endorsed their own products, services, or brands. 60% of those did not consistently, or at all, disclose advertising;
- 44% influencers had their own websites, from which a majority was able to sell directly.
Following the sweep, 358 influencers have been earmarked for further investigation. National authorities will now contact them to request they follow the rules in place. Further enforcement action may be taken in accordance with national procedures.
The Commission for its part will analyse the results in light of the legal obligations of the platforms under the Digital Services Act and will take the necessary enforcement action as appropriate.
