Popular users often sign deals to advertise a product or service on their feed, but the distinction between paid-for content and standard posted content is not always clear. Clear labelling of incentivised posts is required under consumer protection law so that people are not misled.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating what it calls “hidden advertising” on Instagram over concerns that too many social media influencers are posting paid content without letting their followers know and that the platform is not doing enough to tackle the problem.
Instagram will now make it easier for all users – and the businesses they promote – to comply with consumer protection law when posting content.
The social network will prompt users to confirm if they have been incentivised in any way to promote a product or service and require them to disclose this if so. It will extend its ‘paid partnership’ tool to all users, which enables...