Social and hidden advertising: Agcom publishes Faq for influencers
Published two guidance documents accompanying the Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Influencers. At the centre, advertising transparency, protection of minors, prohibitions and sanctions
Is a tagged brand alone enough to make promotional content transparent? And if a brand sends a product for free, should the public be notified or not?
These are the most common - and most slippery - questions of the social economy. For which now comes an official answer, an 'authentic interpretation'. Agcom has published two guidance documents that accompany the Guidelines and theCode of Conduct for Influencers: one operational, with a series of Faqs designed for creators and content creators, and the other more technical, which reconstructs the regulatory and procedural framework within which influencer marketing moves. The stated aim, writes the Authority in a note, is "to facilitate the understanding and correct application of the rules by all those involved in influencer marketing".
Faq gets straight to the heart of the matter: advertising transparency. For example, is it enough to tag a brand in a post to be in compliance? The answer is no. The indications are very clear: when there is promotional content you need a clear wording - such as 'Advertising', 'ADV' or 'Sponsored by' - 'visible immediately, without any action on the part of the user'.
Ambiguous or elegant formulas, which are very common in social media, do not work either. Expressions such as 'in collaboration with' or 'in partnership with', it is explained in the Faq, 'do not make the advertising nature clear'. If, on the other hand, an influencer receives a product for free, the general rule is to signal this with wording such as 'gifted by' or 'product sent by'. Only in very specific cases - when the product is not the focus of the content, no recognisable logos appear and there is no ongoing collaboration - reporting may not be necessary.
It is not only a question of words, but also of position. The Faq explain that the disclosure must appear at the beginning of the text - before the 'other' button in captioning - or in overlays in videos. In stories it must appear on every clip with promotional content. In live broadcasts, on the other hand, the disclosure must remain visible during the broadcast and accompany any invitations to purchase.
