Influencers now obliged to comply with not so glamorous rules on advertising and tax

Trying to make social media influencers follow transparency rules around advertising has been a bit like herding cats.

New content creators pop up every day; anyone can do it, from teenagers posting beauty tips in their bedrooms to celebrities leveraging their personal brands, and all can post on several platforms at any time.

While the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has, since 2012, developed guidelines to promote transparency around paid-for posts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and the rest, it has taken considerable effort to make content creators understand that if they are paid in any way to promote a product or service then they have to come clean with their followers.

It’s not complicated: there’s a range of acceptable hashtags in the ASA code from #AD to #Gifted, and clear guidelines on how to use these labels.

Howeve...
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