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Aimed at informing consumers about commercial posts by influencers
Signed today Wednesday, 13 March 2024, A Memorandum of Understanding between the Consumer Protection Agency (CPO) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure that consumers are adequately informed about the commercial pursuit of posts by influencers on social media platforms/media. The Memorandum will remain in force for five years.
More specifically, the MoU and the FED agreed on the following:
[*]To jointly inform businesses, consumers and influencers about the necessity to disclose the commercial nature of posts by influencers on platforms/MSDs.[*]Such disclosure of the commercial nature of posts by influencers must comply with the following key principles:
- It must be displayed immediately and be easy to understand.
- Be displayed in a manner appropriate to the different formats used by the influencers (e.g. images, posts, videos, blogs) on the different platforms on which the messages appear (e.g. Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, TikTok, etc.)
- Be clear for all the different audiences targeted (e.g. adults, young people, children)
- Be clear for all the different audiences (e.g. adults, young people, children).
3. The FED has produced A Guide to Influencer Marketing, which is a separate Appendix to the Cyprus Advertising Code. The Guide is recognized as best practice by the YPC.
The Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Mr. George Papanastasiou, after referring to the mission of the YPC to ensure a high level of consumer protection in the liberalized and competitive market, stressed that "in recent years influencer marketing has become a key factor in the digital economy."
The Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Mr. George Papanastasiou, after referring to the mission of the YPC to ensure a high level of consumer protection in the liberalized and competitive market, stressed that "in recent years influencer marketing has become a key factor in the digital economy. Taking into account the importance of influencers' compliance with consumer law and the empowerment of consumers in the digital age, the YPC and the FED have set a common goal to adequately inform consumers about the commercial pursuit of posts by influencers on social media platforms/media."
On behalf of the Consumer Protection Service, its Director Mr. Konstantinos Karagiorgis said, inter alia, that the significant growth of the digital advertising practice called influencer marketing prompted the European Commission in 2023 to carry out the Sweep survey on influencers, from which it became clear that further actions/actions are needed in this area. He added that "at national level and within the framework of cooperation with the FED, the Agency will support and promote the Guide to influencer marketing, prepared by the FED, and will organise an information campaign for influencers regarding the information they should provide to consumers. As part of the information campaign, relevant material will be promoted in the NPIs available to the YPC, as well as a public announcement. Furthermore, a relevant video will be prepared, which will be addressed to influencers, briefly instructing them on the legal framework they should follow in their posts."
On behalf of the FED, President Ms. Sotiroulla Sotiriou said: "Influencer marketing is registering great growth, following the growth dynamics of NPIs and their respective platforms nationally and globally. Already in 2021, based on a survey by the Cyprus Advertisers Association, the investment in influencer marketing amounted to 7% of the budget for advertising in digital media and the advertising community recognizes that this percentage is constantly increasing. In order to provide support, education and expertise to influencers, the FED has drafted influencer marketing guidelines with simple, clear and appropriate ways to disclose the commercial nature of influencers' posts, so as to avoid incidents of consumer misleading, particularly in relation to the specific audiences that each influencer and advertiser is targeting or is allowed to target. We are particularly pleased that the PSB recognises these guidelines as best practice. YPC and FED will work closely together to educate stakeholders as to the need for disclosure, thereby ensuring that the entire chain is and remains properly informed. Finally, the FED will ensure that the guide is updated whenever appropriate, in order to keep pace with technological developments in the dynamic environment of PSPs and the internet in general, staying true to our goal, which is to provide reliable information and protect the Cypriot consumer."
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