FTC Issues Warnings to Health Influencers Over Undisclosed Promotions on TikTok and Instagram
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently took action against health influencers on TikTok and Instagram for failing to disclose paid promotions by the American Beverage Association and The Canadian Sugar Institute. The influencers were criticized for hidden placements and ambiguous language in their posts, raising ethical concerns about contradicting online claims.
The Verge reported that over a dozen health influencers were reprimanded for discussing sugar and the artificial sweetener aspartame without revealing that their posts were paid promotions. Failure to include proper disclosures could result in fines exceeding $50,000 for continued non-compliance. Samuel Levine, head of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, condemned the practice of trade groups hiring influencers without ensuring transparent disclosure of their affiliations.
The FTC highlighted instances of inconspicuous placement, ambiguous language, and a lack of clear sponsorship identification in the influencers’ posts. This has raised concerns about the ethical implications of influential creators being paid by companies with vested interests in these industries to counter claims online.
In its warning to influencer Adam Pecoraro, the FTC referenced a specific video where he suggested that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) should be almost completely disregarded and claimed that IARC had “leaked” information about identifying aspartame as a class 2B carcinogen. The FTC expressed dissatisfaction with Pecoraro’s use of the “paid promotion” tag on TikTok and stressed the need for audible endorsements to be accompanied by audible disclosures.
According to the FTC’s Guides for Endorsements and Testimonials, content creators are required to disclose their relationships with sponsors “clearly and conspicuously.” The FTC has issued a 15-day deadline for each recipient of the letters to provide an explanation of how they plan to ensure clear and conspicuous disclosures in the future. Each correspondence additionally contained the FTC’s notification of penalty violations related to deceptive endorsements, emphasizing that the individual could incur civil penalties of up to $50,120 per violation for subsequent lapses in disclosing undisclosed material connections.
The lead staff attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Cassandra Rasmussen, is heading the legal aspects of this case. The FTC has urged the recipients to communicate with agency staff within a 15-day period outlining any measures already implemented or planned to address the concerns raised by the staff. This action emphasizes the FTC’s commitment to ensuring that online endorsements are transparent and disclosed appropriately.
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