Marketing firm Mediakix has reported that 93% of posts from 50 of Instagram’s most-followed celebrities that contained promotional brand content were not overtly marked as advertising. The posts were therefore non-compliant with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, which require transparency in sponsored content promotion. Tagging a favorite makeup artist in a post might be an ad or it might not be, and Instagram is also facing a lawsuit by the FTC over its Sponsored Stories program, where brands pay to promote their products on the platform.
Marketing firm Mediakix has reported that 93% of posts from 50 of Instagram’s most-followed celebrities that contained promotional brand content were not overtly marked as advertising. The posts were therefore non-compliant with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, which require transparency in sponsored content promotion. Instagram is also facing a lawsuit by the FTC over its Sponsored Stories program, where brands pay to promote their products on the platform.