Titan Law PLLC

Ah, the glamorous life of an influencer. Free trips to Bali, skincare brands paying you to hold a bottle near your face, and the ability to convince strangers they need a $300 blender for their morning smoothie. But before you get too excited about raking in cash for posting selfies, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite topic: advertising regulations!

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules the roost. These folks just love ruining the magic of influencer marketing by requiring—get this—honesty. That’s right. If a brand is paying you to say their teeth whitener changed your life, you actually have to disclose that. Whether it’s #ad, #sponsored, or a painfully obvious “Thanks to Brand X for sending me this amazing product,” the FTC wants your audience to know when you’re getting paid. Oh, and if you thought you could hide that disclosure in microscopic font or 37 hashtags deep, think again. We’ve already written about the inconsistent rulings in so far as they relate to the Kardashians’ many dealings with the FTC. You can check that out here.

But, just when you thought advertising regulations didn’t get any more exciting, the UK and Europe make it a barrel of fun! Good luck not running afoul of at least a handful of these, no matter how hard you try.

There’s the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the U.K., which also insists on influencers not tricking people—how dare they? If a brand is slipping you cash under the table to say their protein shake made you look like a Greek god, you need to make that crystal clear. No sneaky “Oh, I just happen to love this brand!” nonsense. The CMA is watching, and they don’t think your casual deception is cute.

And let’s not forget the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), also in the U.K., which spends its time policing influencers who get a little too creative with the truth. Did you imply that face cream erased your wrinkles, even though it’s just glorified moisturizer? The ASA is here to tell you, in the most bureaucratic way possible, that you can’t just make stuff up. If your ad is misleading, exaggerated, or straight-up fiction, expect them to call you out.

Once you get into Europe, oh boy, does it get fun.

There’s the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). This is the big one. The UCPD prohibits misleading and aggressive marketing practices across the EU. That means influencers can’t make false claims, create fake “organic” endorsements, or pressure followers into buying things. If an ad is deceptive or manipulative, it could be deemed illegal under this directive.

For you digital influencers, there’s also the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). This law covers online video content (think YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Stories). It requires clear disclosure of paid partnerships and prohibits things like subliminal advertising. So if you’re sneaking in brand mentions mid-video without saying it’s an ad, that’s a no-go.

Not content to have uniform directives, Europe also has the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA). While not a regulator itself, the EASA coordinates self-regulatory advertising bodies across Europe. Each EU country has its self-regulatory organizations (SROs) (similar to the ASA in the U.K.), and they all follow EASA’s best practices. These organizations investigate complaints and ensure advertising is fair and honest.

As above, each EU country has its own advertising watchdog (SRO) that enforces local laws based on EU directives and EASA best practices. Examples include the ARPP (France), the DWI (Germany), the IAP (Italy), the SRC (Netherlands), the JEP (Belgium), the RO (Sweden), the MFU (Norway), the MEN (Finland), the SLK (Switzerland), the ASAI (Ireland), and AUTOCONTROL (Spain). So depending on where an influencer operates, they may need to comply with different national rules (or, frankly, all of the rules because how would you know if your collaboration is going across country lines?)

Think they’re done? Not hardly.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU doesn’t care about your #sponsored posts—it cares about how brands are using consumer data. If a company is tracking people’s clicks, preferences, or (let’s be real) their entire digital footprint, they have to follow strict rules about consent and privacy. That means no sketchy email lists, no secretly harvesting data, and definitely no “accidentally” selling people’s info to the highest bidder. The entire world had to change their websites to comply with GDPR not long ago. Annoying, right?

So there you have it. A bunch of regulatory killjoys making sure influencers don’t just make up nonsense, trick consumers, or casually leak private data. Hard to believe a place with this many layers of regulation isn’t a hotbed of innovation or, for that matter, meaningful commerce. But, hey, Paris is nice in the summer and, if you do get an opportunity to do a collaboration in Europe, you might have some fun. But, chances are, you’ll still get fined for it.