The Federal Trade Commission Submitted Proposed Revisions For Its Endorsement Guides

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted proposed revisions for its Endorsement Guides.

As part of its notice and accompanying statement, the FTC says that many social media platforms’ disclosure tools are inadequate and open social media platforms up to liability. It also modifies the definition of endorsers to include virtual influencers.

It should be of no surprise that the FTC is looking to tighten up its advertising guidelines, given the increased attention of social media and influencers. Compared to other governing bodies like the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the FTC hasn’t been as active with its policies for influencer marketing. The ASA has taken some aggressive actions such as running advertising campaigns informing people of influencers that aren’t properly disclosing their paid partnerships.

The FTC's proposed revisions are well needed as social media platforms need to improve their disclosure tools and enforce them better, and virtual influencers should be taken into account due to their rising popularity by brands and consumers.

When it comes to disclosures, one tool that doesn’t exist today but should, is the ability for users to report content that appears to be part of a paid partnership but is not disclosed properly. When content is reported enough, the platforms could send influencers a notification for them to add disclosure or to confirm it is indeed not a sponsored post.