FTC disclosure rules for influencers

What are the FTC disclosure rules for influencers?

If you have a material connection to a brand and you mention its product, you have to disclose that connection clearly and conspicuously, in the post itself. That is the core rule from the FTC's Endorsement Guides, codified at 16 CFR Part 255, and its plain-language guide, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers.

The guides define clear and conspicuous as "difficult to miss" and easily understood by ordinary consumers. For social media and other interactive media, the 2023 revision adds that a disclosure "should be unavoidable". A label your audience has to hunt for does not count.

The rules also cover what you say. Disclosures 101 says you cannot talk about your experience with a product you have not tried, and that if you think a product is terrible, you cannot say it's terrific because a brand paid you.

What counts as a material connection?

A material connection is any relationship with a brand that might change how your audience weighs your recommendation and that they would not expect. The Endorsement Guides list business, family, and personal relationships, monetary payment, and free or discounted products, including products unrelated to the one you endorse, whether or not the brand asks for a post in return.

The list goes further than most creators assume. Section 255.5 also names early access to a product and the possibility of being paid or winning a prize. You need to disclose when a significant minority of your audience would not understand or expect the connection, which on social media is almost always.

Affiliate links are payment, so they count. So does a brand that employs you, a company owned by a relative, and a hotel stay given in exchange for coverage. If you would hesitate to tell your audience about the arrangement, that is a sign it needs a label.

• Cash payment for a post, video, or mention.
• Free products, free trials, or discounts, even with no posting requirement.
• Affiliate commissions and discount codes that pay you.
• Employment by the brand, or a family or business relationship with it.
• Early access to a product, or the chance of being paid or winning a prize.
• Trips, event tickets, or other perks given because of your platform.

How to word and place a disclosure

Put a short, plain disclosure where your audience will see it before they see the pitch, such as "Ad", "#ad", "Sponsored", or "Thanks to Brand for the free product". Disclosures 101 says a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored is fine but not required, and that the wording should be simple and clear.

Placement matters as much as wording. The FTC's guide says the disclosure belongs with the endorsement itself, and warns that disclosures on a profile page, at the end of a post, mixed into a group of hashtags, or behind a "more" link are likely to be missed. On a picture platform, superimpose the disclosure on the image. In video, put it in the video, not only in the description, and the FTC says viewers are more likely to notice a disclosure made in both audio and video.

Livestreams need repeated disclosures. The FTC says to repeat the disclosure periodically during a live stream so people who join late still see it. If you post from outside the US, US law still applies when it is reasonably foreseeable that the post will affect US consumers.

• Use. "Ad", "#ad", "Advertisement", "Sponsored", "Paid partnership with Brand", or a plain sentence such as "Brand paid me for this video".
• Avoid. "#sp", "#spon", "collab", or a stand-alone "thanks" or "ambassador". The FTC calls these vague or confusing.
• Placement. In the first lines of a caption, on screen in the video, and spoken aloud. Not only in your bio or at the bottom of the description.
• Language. Disclose in the same language as the post.

Platform disclosure tools: Paid partnership labels

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Snapchat all have a built-in paid partnership tool, and all of them except Pinterest require it on sponsored content. Pinterest accepts #ad or its tool. Use the tool, and add your own disclosure as well. Disclosures 101 says not to assume a platform's disclosure tool is good enough, but to consider using it in addition to your own.

Breaking a platform's rule has its own cost. TikTok's help center says a video flagged for missing the commercial content disclosure becomes ineligible for the For You feed if it is not fixed within 24 hours.

What changed in the 2023 Endorsement Guides

The FTC voted 3-0 on June 29, 2023, to approve the revised Endorsement Guides, and they were published in the Federal Register and took effect on July 26, 2023. It was the first revision since 2009, and most of the changes made the guides fit social media.

• Tags are endorsements. The definition now says tags in social media posts can be endorsements, so tagging a brand counts.
• Clear and conspicuous is defined. Difficult to miss and easily understandable, and unavoidable on social media.
• Virtual influencers are covered. The FTC's announcement says the endorsement definition now reaches virtual influencers.
• Brands carry liability. An advertiser may be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser is not.
• Agencies carry liability. Ad agencies, PR firms, review brokers, and similar intermediaries may be liable too.
• Reviews are covered. Advertisers should not suppress, boost, or edit consumer reviews in ways that distort what consumers think.
• Children get extra caution. Ads aimed at children may be of special concern because of the audience.

The 2024 rule on fake reviews and fake followers

The FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, at 16 CFR Part 465, bans fake reviews and testimonials and the buying and selling of fake social media influence. The Commission approved it 5-0 on August 14, 2024, and it took effect on October 21, 2024.

Unlike the Endorsement Guides, this is a rule with civil penalties. The FTC's penalty schedule sets the maximum at $53,088 per violation, and its September 2026 notice kept that figure unchanged for 2026. In December 2025 the FTC sent warning letters to 10 companies about possible violations.

One part applies to anyone, creators included. Section 465.8 bars buying or selling fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers, subscribers, views, likes, or comments, that you knew or should have known were fake and that misrepresent your influence for a commercial purpose. Buying followers to win brand deals fits that description.

• Writing, creating, or selling reviews or testimonials that misrepresent who wrote them or their experience. The FTC's announcement names AI-generated fake reviews as an example.
• Paying or rewarding people for reviews that express a particular sentiment, positive or negative.
• Reviews by a company's officers or managers without a clear disclosure of the relationship.
• Company-controlled websites that pose as independent review sites.
• Suppressing reviews with groundless legal threats, intimidation, or false accusations.
• Buying or selling fake followers, views, and other influence metrics.

What happens if you don't disclose?

Breaking the Endorsement Guides is not itself a violation, but the deceptive advertising behind it can be. The FTC's endorsement FAQ says the guides do not have the force of law, and that the agency can still act under Section 5 of the FTC Act against practices that are deceptive.

The same FAQ says the FTC usually focuses on advertisers and their agencies, and that action against an individual endorser might be appropriate in certain circumstances. In practice, the bigger near-term risks for a creator are a brand that stops paying, a platform that limits the post, and a breach of the disclosure clause in your contract.

The fake reviews rule is different. A violation of Part 465 can bring civil penalties of up to $53,088 each. If you buy followers or sell testimonials, the risk is no longer theoretical.

Rules outside the US: the UK and the EU

The UK and the EU have their own disclosure rules, and the UK's are stricter about wording than the FTC's. If your audience is international, start every ad with a plain "Ad", which fits the FTC's guidance and the UK's stricter preference.

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority says it and the Competition and Markets Authority prefer labels that call the content advertising, such as "Ad". The ASA advises against "sponsored", says abbreviations like "sp" and "spon" are unlikely to be clear enough, and says a disclosure that appears only after tapping "See more" is not acceptable. The CMA's guidance for creators tells them to put #Ad in a clear, upfront position. Since April 6, 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act lets the CMA fine businesses directly, up to 10% of global turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater.

In the EU, the European Commission's Influencer Legal Hub says consumer law already requires creators to disclose advertising, including brand partnerships, content made in exchange for products or services, and affiliate marketing.