Influencers Have to Disclose Who Is Paying Them

It’s not just for vibes, it’s the law.

You can make money selling skincare. You can make money selling shoes. You can make money selling political candidates and causes.

But when money, free stuff or other compensation is involved, your audience has a right to know who's paying you.

Whether you're hawking a product or telling your followers who to vote for, undisclosed paid influence can deceive the people you're trying to influence.

Don't hide the influence.

Why? Because the FTC says so. So, who is the FTC? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the federal government agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s consumer protection and competition laws. One of its core jobs is making sure advertising is truthful and not deceptive. Whether that advertising appears on television, in a magazine, on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, a podcast or pretty much anywhere else.

The FTC enforces Section 5 of the FTC Act, which generally prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices. That includes advertising that misleads consumers or advertising that leaves out information they need to understand that they’re looking at an ad.

TWO KINDS OF INFLUENCE. TWO SETS OF RULES.

1 — Selling Stuff

If a company pays you, gives you free products, gives you a discount, gives you perks, let’s you stay at their hotel for free or otherwise has a material connection to you, you need to disclose that relationship when you endorse the company's products or services.

The FTC says a material connection includes financial relationships, employment, family or personal relationships, and receiving something of value. And importantly, the responsibility to disclose belongs to the influencer. You can't simply assume the brand or Instagram will take care of it.

The disclosure also has to be clear and conspicuous. Burying it after a wall of hashtags, putting it on your profile, or hiding it behind “more” is not what the FTC recommends. For video (like TikTok, YouTube or Instagram stories), the disclosure should actually appear in the video, not merely in the description.

Here are examples directly from the FTC:

Good:

• “Ad”

• “Sponsored by Nike”

• “Paid partnership with Acme”

• “Acme gave me this product for free”

Not so good:

• “#sp”

• “#spon”

• “Thanks to my friends at Acme!”

• A disclosure buried at the very end of a caption

• A disclosure that exists only in your profile

The FTC specifically warns that vague terms and disclosures that are difficult to notice may not be adequate.

A good read:
FTC — Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers

2 — Selling Politics

Political influence is influence, too.

If someone pays you to promote a candidate, ballot measure, political committee or political message, slightly different disclosure rules may apply.

For federal elections, campaign-finance law can require “paid for by” disclaimers on covered political communications.

For example, the FEC says that individuals and other persons generally must include disclaimers on certain public communications that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate, as well as on certain electioneering communications.

And the rules aren't merely “put #ad somewhere.”

Depending on who paid for the communication and whether it was authorized by a campaign, the disclaimer can need to identify: who paid for it, whether it was authorized by a candidate or campaign, and, in some circumstances, additional identifying information.

The FEC gives examples such as:

“Paid for by the XYZ Committee and authorized by Sam Jones for Congress.”

or, for an independent communication:

“Paid for by [payer] and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.”

And for internet communications, the FEC has specific rules concerning how visible the disclaimer must be.

The important thing for influencers:

“I wasn't technically a campaign.”

Not necessarily a defense.

If you're being paid to create or distribute political advertising, the applicable campaign finance rules may apply depending on who is paying, what you're saying, whose election is involved, whether the communication is authorized and how the communication is distributed.

State and local elections can have their own rules too.

Before you take money to tell people who to vote for, make sure you are complying with disclosure laws.

DON'T LET THE PLATFORM DO YOUR LEGAL WORK

Instagram's little “Paid partnership” label is not a magic legal shield.

The FTC specifically says influencers shouldn't assume that a platform's disclosure tool is sufficient. Influencers should consider adding their own clear disclosure.

And political advertising has its own rules governing required disclaimers.

A platform's button is not your lawyer.

Saying once in your bio that there could be ads on your posts is not proper disclosure.

WHAT COUNTS AS “PAYMENT”?

Money isn't the only thing that counts.

Depending on the applicable law, compensation or a material connection can include:

• 💵 Cash or a fee

• 🎁 Free products

• 🏨 Free travel or accommodations (hotels, resorts, short term rentals, etc.)

• 🎟️ Free tickets or experiences

• 💳 Discounts

• 💼 Employment or business relationships

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family or personal relationships

• 🔗 Affiliate commissions

• 📣 Other things of value

The FTC expressly says financial relationships aren't limited to cash. Receiving free or discounted products or other perks can trigger disclosure obligations.

THE RULE IS PRETTY SIMPLE

If you're getting something of value to influence people, tell them.

Your followers aren't supposed to have to investigate your sponsorships, search campaign finance databases or decode a string of cryptic hashtags to figure out who's behind the message.

Influence should come with disclosure.

KNOW THE RULES - A Resource Section for Influencers

Commercial endorsements

FTC — Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers
The FTC's plain-English guide to when and how influencers should disclose material connections.

FTC — Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
More detailed answers, including video, affiliate links, free products, and what counts as an endorsement.

FTC — Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews
The FTC's central resource page for influencer and endorsement rules.

Political advertising

FEC — Advertising and Disclaimers
Federal campaign-finance rules governing disclaimers and internet political advertising.

FEC — Independent Expenditures
Information about disclaimer requirements for communications independently paid for by individuals or organizations.

Still think nobody will notice?

Maybe.

But the law isn't based on whether your followers might figure it out eventually.

The point of disclosure is that people should know who is trying to influence them before they decide what to believe or buy.

That's the whole point.

And if you think there are no consequences, you are wrong.

The FTC isn’t the only one that can enforce these laws. State Attorneys General can and do bring cases against influencers and companies that break consumer protection laws. Every state has its own laws to protect consumers and state Attorneys General enforce those laws.

You could also be sued in a class action lawsuit, like some influencers already have been.

And there is another way these laws can be enforced - a private attorney general action.

A private attorney general action is a lawsuit brought by a private person or organization to enforce a law that protects the public. In other words, when the government does not bring the case, someone else may step in and enforce the law in court.

That’s what Deinfluence is here to do.

We are not making up new laws. We are not creating new disclosure rules. The laws already exist. The rules already apply to social media. Influencers and companies are already required to follow them.

Deinfluence will use the laws that are already on the books to hold people and companies accountable.

If you do not follow the above disclosure laws, Deinfluence may sue you. 😘