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As global regulators crack down on the influencer industry, it becomes even more essential for marketers to stay up-to-date with the rules.
Last month, an Italian regulator declared that “the wild west of influencers is over” after the country’s top influencer, Chiara Ferragni, was fined £1m for defrauding her 30 million followers.
It’s a landmark case that sparked weeks of parliamentary debate and resulted in the Communications Authority (AGCOM) taking ownership of the regulation of influencer content. The authority said it would start the crackdown on influencers with over a million followers, requiring them to better label ads or risk fines of up to €600,000.
Italy isn’t alone in its decision to take firm action on influencer marketing. Calls for increased regulation are a global trend as the industry grows in value and its models evolve.
Much of the legislation being introduced is targetted at the influencer, but any action against an account will bring the brand reputational damage. There are also recommendations among regulating authorities to introduce a joint liability between influencers, their agencies and brands. For example, the Ferragni case has the potential to set a precedent after the brand owner was fined €420,000 alongside Ferragni.
The UK
In the UK, the Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB) trade body was set up in 2021 to help agencies navigate complex consumer regulations and to represent their interests within the wider marketing industry. In January 2023, the IMTB was admitted into the Committee of Advertising Practices (CAP), the organization responsible for writing the rules that ads in all the UK media must follow.
The first action the IMTB took after joining the CAP was to review the CAP and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) updates to their Influencers’ Guide to Making Clear that Ads are Ads. The guidance is written with an influencer’s perspective in mind but is also useful for brands and agencies.
In June, the…
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