Ad Watchdog Asks FTC to Take Action Against Influencers

Madison, Conn.—Ad watchdog Truth in Advertising has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against a group of social media influencers it says have posted deceptive ads despite previous warnings.

Nearly two years ago, the FTC sent letters to more than 90 influencers and brands, reminding them about disclosure and promotions on social media.

The agency followed up with a second batch of letters in September 2017 to 21 of those influencers—a mix of actresses, singers, reality TV stars and individuals who made their names strictly as influencers—reminding them of their legal obligations and requesting information about their connections to certain companies.

Truth in Advertising (TINA) is now saying there has been no public action from the FTC on this front, leading it to launch its own investigation into the influencers’ Instagram accounts.

The list of influencers, who have a combined following of more than 220 million, includes actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Shay Mitchell and Sofia Vergara, singer Ciara, and socialite and TV personality Scott Disick, who was on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” for years because of his on-again, off-again relationship with Kourtney Kardashian.

According to TINA.org, 20 of the 21 influencers “continue to violate federal endorsement guidelines” by not clearly and conspicuously disclosing their material connections—ranging from receiving free products to actual endorsement deals—to the brands in their Instagram posts. (The only one not included was Lindsay Lohan, though TINA.org noted that could be because the “Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club” star wiped her Instagram account clean in October 2018.)

It compiled more than 1,400 “deceptive” social media posts promoting more than 500 brands published between May 2017 and December 2018. The violations in the posts, TINA said, range from “a complete lack of disclosure to burying #ad in the middle of a caption, making it easy to miss.”

Fashion and lifestyle blogger Rach Parcell topped TINA’s list, with 265 allegedly deceptive posts during the time period, followed by Hudgens (175) and Mitchell (140).

Based on its findings, the organization filed a complaint with the FTC on Monday, asking it to take “strict enforcement action against these repeat offenders.”

A TINA spokesperson told National Jeweler it would like the FTC to expand its investigation into the marketing tactics used by these social media influencers and “put an end to this ongoing and pervasive consumer deception,” and that it is “confident” the FTC will take action against these 21 individuals.