Last month, Rosie and I attended BlogPaws – a conference for pet bloggers – where I taught a workshop with Chloe DiVita and Tom Collins on the Legal Dos and Don’ts of Blogging and Social Media. We did a three-hour presentation that focused on copyright and the federal rules that apply to product reviews, campaigns, and promotions.
We reminded the audience that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires people to provide their honest and accurate opinions when writing product reviews. If you have a relationship with a company – whether you got free product, you have a contract with them, or even if you have personal relationship with someone in the company, you always have to disclose these relationships – clearly and succinctly – in every post and platform you mention them. We also reviewed the Lord & Taylor fiasco. This was a good reminder for social media influencers not to assume the companies they work with will know these rules or provide proper guidance
After the workshop, I did one-on-one sessions with attendees. Per the conference organizers, each person only got 10-minutes, so it was like a legal information kissing booth – sit down, ask one question, and get out. One attendee asked, “I understand that I have to put #ad on all Instagram posts when I have a relationship with a company, but are there rules about where I have to put it?”
Hmm . . . that’s an interesting question, and one I’ve never heard before.
The purpose of the FTC rules is transparency. The law requires posters to inform others of potential bias due to a relationship with company so whomever reads the post can consider this in conjunction with the content of the post. This disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, you can’t put it behind a link. The easiest way to make this disclosure is to include “#ad” on each applicable post.
I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my Instagram feed. Each post cuts off after the first three lines until you click on it to read more. Based on this, it appears the prudent place to put “#ad” on an Instagram post is to put it in the first three lines so anyone looking at their feed on their will know when you have a relationship with a company.
After the conference, I looked at Instagram’s Terms of Use. Although their terms are impressive and thorough, there are currently no provisions explicitly about when and where to use “#ad.”
The law is constantly trying to keep up with technology, including the internet. If you’re a social media influencer, keep up with changes in the FTC rules regarding disclosures on product reviews and promotions. and other rules that apply to your posts. If you have questions about internet law, you can contact me directly or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn. You can also get access to more exclusive content that is available only to people on my mailing list, by subscribing here.
Hat tip to Rosalyn of Golden Woofs and Sugar the Golden Retriever for this question.