There Federal Trade Commission (FTC)a US federal body that monitors the correctness of market practices, has decided to investigate reviews from influencers and rely on social mediain order to avoid the spread of those “false and manipulated” that can reach the public.
It is not the first time that the issue has been analyzed by the federal body: in fact, the booklet had already been drawn up in 2019 Disclosures 101 for Social Media influencerscontaining instructions for streamers and influencers, in order to indicate the ways to make public promotional and commercial relationships with companies, regarding the placement of products within the video content or reviews.
However, this guide will need to be updated and made less permissive, it seems, as the FTC intends to avoid it “covert advertising” and the “fake and manipulated reviews” that can result from improper use of partnerships between companies and streamers on products.
On the other hand, the Endorsement Guides “which regulate the partnership relationships of this type were developed in 2009, which is a very distant period from today, if you think about how social media has evolved in the meantime and how influencers have become relevant in recent years.
The FTC building
The FTC has therefore decided to propose new guidelines that “reflect the importance attributed to social media and product reviews through them by manufacturers”.
The new regulations do not only affect influencers but also platforms the same on which they act, or the companies that control social media. In particular, it becomes essential to avoid hidden advertising and “microtargeting” phenomena, with promotional features aimed at specific target audiences. Particular concern, in this sense, was also expressed with regard to advertising aimed at children.
The concern derives from the relationship of trust that is established between the public and some influencers, for which they become one promotional tool very powerful that companies can exploit. The latter fall a large part of the responsibility to ensure that the official partnership, sponsorship and endorsement relationships between the producer and the influencer are duly made public and explained to the public.
