What are the FTC and ASA rules for sponsored content and #ad disclosure?

Last updated · by Hüseyin Kaplan

In the US, the FTC says any paid, gifted or affiliate relationship must be disclosed clearly where people can't miss it, ideally with '#ad' or 'Ad' placed up front. In the UK, the ASA and CMA expect an 'Ad' label upfront for paid, gifted and affiliate content. EU consumer law sets the same baseline, and brands share responsibility.

What is sponsored content?

Sponsored content is any post, video or story a creator publishes because a brand gave them something of value: a fee, free product, commission, a trip or an ongoing ambassador role. A sponsored post on Instagram or TikTok is one piece of that content, and the influencer sponsored post is the format brands buy most often.

The relationship is what makes content sponsored, whether or not money changed hands. The ASA and CMA's influencers' guide treats any incentive as payment, including products sent unsolicited with no obligation to post. So a gifted serum that turns up in a skincare creator's routine is still an ad: '#ad' in the US, 'Ad' in the UK.

Paid post

A brand pays a fee for a set deliverable, such as one Reel and three Stories for a supplement launch. The fee, the brief and any approval rights make it advertising in both the US and the UK, so every piece in the set needs a label, not just the first one.

Gifted or PR product

A fashion brand sends a jacket with no strings attached. If the creator features it, that counts as a material connection in the US and as payment under UK guidance. Label it '#ad' (US) or 'Ad' (UK). In the UK, 'gifted' or 'PR' on its own is not enough.

Affiliate link or code

The creator earns commission on clicks or sales through a tracked link or a personal discount code. That makes the content advertising even when there is no upfront fee. The disclosure has to sit next to the link or code, not in a bio or a generic footer.

Ambassador or own brand

Ongoing ambassadors, shareholders, employees and creators promoting their own product lines all have a commercial connection. Every relevant post needs a label, because followers shouldn't have to check a bio or know the backstory to recognise an ad.

What is influencer gifting / product seeding and how do you run a gifting campaign

What do the FTC guidelines for influencers require?

The FTC requires influencers to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand whenever they endorse its products, and to do it in a way people will see and understand. That is the core of the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, the official plain-language brochure (the PDF many people search for is free on ftc.gov). It also says creators should disclose free or discounted products even if they weren't asked to mention that product, and even if they believe their review is unbiased.

US law applies to posts made from abroad if they're reasonably likely to reach US consumers. Tags, likes and pins can also count as endorsements. And the content must be honest: you can't talk about a product you haven't tried, or call a product terrific when you thought it was terrible.

Where the disclosure goes

Put it with the endorsement, where it's hard to miss. Disclosures are likely to be missed if they only appear on a profile page, at the end of a post or video, behind a 'more' tap, or buried in a cluster of hashtags and links.

Which words work

Plain terms such as 'ad', 'advertisement' or 'sponsored' work. So does 'Thanks to [brand] for the free product' if it's prominent. A hashtag is optional. Avoid 'sp', 'spon', 'collab', and 'thanks' or 'ambassador' on their own. Write the disclosure in the same language as the post.

Video, Stories and live

In a video, put the disclosure in the video itself, not only in the description. Saying it and showing it on screen works best. On Stories, superimpose it for long enough to read. In a live stream, repeat it from time to time so people who join late still see it.

What are the UK ASA and CMA rules for influencer ads?

In the UK, content counts as an ad whenever a creator has received payment or any other incentive from a brand, or is personally or commercially connected to it, and it must say so upfront. According to the ASA and CMA's influencers' guide, the simplest fix is a clear, prominent 'Ad' label placed before people see the rest of the content.

Two layers of rules sit behind this. Consumer protection law, enforced by the CMA and Trading Standards, bans hiding the commercial intent of a post. The ASA notes that the legal basis is moving to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, but the advice stays broadly the same. The CAP Code, enforced by the ASA, applies when a brand paid the creator in any form and had some control over the content, such as key messages, posting dates or approval rights. The creator and the brand are both responsible.

Labels that work

'Ad', '#Ad', 'Advert', 'Advertising', 'Advertisement' or 'Advertisement feature'. The hashtag is optional if the label is prominent and kept separate from other text. You can add detail, such as 'Ad, gifted', as long as 'Ad' comes first and an average person will understand it.

Labels to avoid

'Gifted', 'PR', 'sponsored', 'spon', 'in partnership with', 'thanks to [brand]', 'collab', 'aff', 'brand ambassador' and a bare brand tag. UK regulators advise against all of these because audiences don't reliably read them as advertising.

What counts as payment

Fees, free products, trips, hotel stays, event invites, loans, rentals, shares, exclusive discounts and commission all count. That applies whether you asked for them or not, and whether or not you were required to post. Promoting a brand that you, your family or your friends own counts too.

How long it lasts

Disclose for as long as the relationship runs and, in relevant content, for 12 months after it ends. Label every Story in a sequence and every format you repost into separately, because each one can be seen on its own.

What changed in the FTC's latest Endorsement Guides update?

In June 2023 the FTC finalised its first revision of the Endorsement Guides since 2009, tightening how brands and creators handle disclosures, reviews and new formats. According to the FTC's announcement, the update defined 'clear and conspicuous', warned that a platform's built-in disclosure tool might not be adequate, and widened 'endorsement' to cover fake reviews, virtual influencers and tags in social media.

It also set out the potential liability of advertisers, endorsers and intermediaries such as agencies, flagged child-directed advertising as a special concern, and added guidance on incentivised reviews, employee reviews and fake negative reviews. Alongside it, the FTC updated its FAQ, 'What People Are Asking', with 40 additional questions, including staff views on how brands should monitor influencers and on platform disclosure tools.

For brands, the practical change is accountability. A creator's missing '#ad' is your problem too, and virtual creators, including computer-generated personas, are treated as endorsers, so their posts need the same disclosure as a human creator's.

How UK influencer ads disclose

  • 57% of influencer ads analysed met UK ad-disclosure rules, so more than four in ten fell short.
  • 34% of influencer ads carried no disclosure at all.
  • 9% of ads tried to use a label, but the wording didn't make clear they were commercial.

Source: ASA, Influencer Ad Disclosure on Social Media: Instagram and TikTok Report, 2025

Is Instagram's paid partnership label enough on its own?

Not always. Instagram sponsored posts can carry a 'Paid partnership with [brand]' label, and other platforms offer similar toggles, but regulators treat these as a starting point rather than a guarantee. The FTC's Disclosures 101 brochure tells creators not to assume a platform's tool is good enough, and suggests using it as well as their own clear disclosure.

UK guidance is slightly more relaxed. The paid partnership tool may be enough if the label is upfront, clear and prominent. If it's hidden by the image, or doesn't make clear that the post is advertising, add 'Ad' as well.

For a campaign that runs in both the UK and the US, the safe default is to do both: switch on the platform label, and start the caption or on-screen text with 'Ad'. On Stories and video, make sure the label is visible in the frame itself, because many viewers never open the caption.

What does 'paid partnership' mean on Instagram and how do you add the label

What are the EU rules for influencer ad disclosure?

Across the EU, influencers who regularly advertise or sell are treated as 'traders' under consumer law, and brand partnerships, content made in exchange for products or services, and affiliate marketing must all be disclosed. The European Commission's Influencer Legal Hub explains how, with video trainings, legal briefs and a sheet of disclosure dos and don'ts. Its guidance reflects the five key principles on social media disclosures adopted by the EU network of consumer authorities.

Enforcement happens at national level, and the fines are real. Latvia fined an influencer €15,000 in 2023 over misleading supplement claims. The Danish Consumer Ombudsman has brought criminal cases in which influencers were fined DKK 15,000-50,000. In Norway, outside the EU, the consumer authority triggered an €80,000 penalty in 2020 over four Instagram Stories.

On the common 'DSA and GDPR' question: the duty to disclose comes from consumer protection law. Data protection rules such as the GDPR cover how you collect and use personal data, for example when tracking creators or targeting audiences. They don't govern how you label an ad. Before launching in a new market, check the Hub's links to that country's authority.

What happens if you don't disclose?

Creators and brands that don't disclose risk public naming, platform penalties, legal action and lost deals. Plenty still fall short: the ASA's latest influencer disclosure report found that only about 57% of the influencer ads it analysed met the rules, and said it would use technology to take enforcement action where non-compliance persists.

The consequences vary by regulator, but the brand is never off the hook. Creators and brands share responsibility in the UK, and in the US advertisers, creators and agencies can each be liable.

ASA sanctions

A creator who won't disclose can be listed on the ASA's non-compliant social media influencers page for up to three months before further sanctions are considered. The ASA can also run its own targeted ads warning that creator's followers. Brands can be added to a separate non-compliant online advertisers list.

CMA and Trading Standards

Hiding the commercial nature of a post breaks consumer protection law, not just an industry code. The CMA and Trading Standards can investigate and take formal legal action, and the CMA has already acted against a number of influencers and set out the standards it expects.

Platform action

Platforms can take down undisclosed content, remove features or close accounts. For a creator, that can mean losing the channel the partnership depends on. For a brand, it can mean campaign content disappearing partway through a launch.

US liability

Advertisers, endorsers and intermediaries such as agencies can all be liable for deceptive endorsements, and brands are expected to monitor what creators post for them. Keep evidence of your instructions, your checks and the corrections you asked for.

What should a disclosure checklist include for brands and creators?

A workable checklist covers the contract, the brief, the post and the follow-up, so disclosure never depends on one person remembering. For cross-border campaigns, put 'Ad' at the very start of captions and on-screen text. It meets UK guidance and is one of the plain terms the US accepts, whereas 'sponsored' works in the US but not in the UK.

If you brief creators through #Collabz, add the disclosure line to the brief there, alongside the usage rights and payment terms.

In the contract

Name the label ('Ad' or '#ad'), where it goes, which platform tool to switch on, and how long disclosure continues after the deal ends. Add a right to ask for fixes, and a clause requiring evidence for product claims, especially supplement and skincare benefit claims.

In the brief

Spell out the first words of the caption, the on-screen text for video, and a spoken line for Reels, TikToks and live streams. Rule out vague labels such as 'gifted', 'collab' or 'thanks to'. Ask for honest opinions only: scripts must never invent experiences the creator hasn't had.

Before it goes live

Check that the label is visible without tapping 'more', isn't lost among hashtags, stands out against the background on mobile, and appears on every Story frame and every reposted format. Confirm that affiliate links and discount codes are labelled where they appear.

After it goes live

Monitor live posts, keep screenshots for your records and ask for corrections quickly. In the UK, keep labelling relevant content for the length of the relationship and for 12 months after it ends. Treat gifted seeding exactly like paid work: '#ad' in the US, 'Ad' in the UK.

What should an influencer or UGC contract include (template)

Sources and further reading

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find the official FTC Disclosures 101 for social media influencers?

It's a free FTC staff brochure on ftc.gov, available as a web page and a downloadable PDF, with a companion training video. It covers when to disclose, how to disclose in pictures, videos and live streams, and which words work. For more detail, the FTC's FAQ 'Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking' goes further.

What is a material connection under FTC rules?

A material connection is any relationship with a brand that could affect how people weigh your endorsement. That includes personal, family and employment ties as well as financial ones, such as being paid or receiving free or discounted products. If one exists, you must disclose it clearly in the post.

What do the FTC Endorsement Guides say about social media disclosure?

Disclosures must be clear and conspicuous: placed with the endorsement, in plain words, and in the same format as the claim, so on screen or spoken in video rather than only in a description. A platform's built-in tool might not be enough on its own. Tags and likes can also count as endorsements.

Do the FTC rules apply to affiliate links?

Yes. Earning commission from a link or code is a financial relationship, so the post needs a clear disclosure such as 'ad' or 'I earn commission from this link', placed near the link. A note in your bio or at the very end of a long post is likely to be missed.

Does the FTC treat gifted products as sponsored content?

Yes. Free or discounted products are a material connection, so if you mention the brand you should disclose it, even if you weren't asked to post. Use '#ad' in the US, and 'Ad' if the post also reaches a UK audience.

Is 'sponsored' an acceptable label?

In the US, 'sponsored' is one of the plain terms the FTC accepts. In the UK, the ASA and CMA advise against 'sponsored', 'spon' and 'sp' because audiences don't reliably read them as advertising. 'Ad' at the start works in both markets.

What are some good examples of compliant sponsored content?

A skincare Reel that opens with 'Ad' on screen and in the first word of the caption, with the paid partnership label switched on. A supplement creator's TikTok that says 'this is an ad' in the first seconds and labels the discount code. A gifted fashion haul where each item from the brand is flagged 'Ad' before it appears.

How do you make a sponsored post on Instagram compliant?

Switch on the paid partnership label, then start the caption with 'Ad' (or '#ad') before any other text. Add an 'Ad' overlay to every Story frame and to the video itself for Reels. Label any discount code or affiliate link where it appears.

Do the rules apply to UGC videos that only run on the brand's own account?

UK guidance notes that content posted on a brand's own channels is often already clearly advertising in that context, so a separate 'Ad' label may not be needed there. If the creator also shares the video on their own feed, it needs a disclosure like any other paid post. When in doubt, the ASA's free Copy Advice team can check.