The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been trying for years to make so-called “influencers” clearly disclose when they are being paid for, or otherwise benefit financially from, promoting a product over social media so audiences are aware of the incentive involved in that promotion. In a news release, the FTC said it sent more than 90 letters to prominent Instagram users, reminding them to “clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships with brands.”

The FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising applies not only to individual endorsers, but bloggers and other marketing/sponsoring companies. The agency also stated that the use of “#sp” or placing “sponsored” near the bottom of a post will not suffice as a disclosure tactic.

Read the full article by Rimon Partner Rosenbaum here.

Joe is an internationally recognized and highly valued media, entertainment, marketing and promotions, corporate-commercial transactional lawyer, known as much for his strategic advice and policy acumen, as his legal skills and judgment.  Prior to joining Rimon, Joe was a partner in the New York office of Reed Smith LLP and prior to private practice, served for 17 years as an in-house lawyer for American Express, including 4 years in Toronto as Vice President & General Counsel of Amex Canada.