FTC publicly rebuked health influencers on TikTok and Instagram for undisclosed paid promotions by the American Beverage Association and The Canadian Sugar Institute. Letters highlighted inconspicuous placements and ambiguous language in influencers' posts, raising ethical concerns about countering online claims.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 08: In this photo illustration, a teaspoon of sugar is seen on April 8, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. The World Health Organisation's first global report on diabetes found that 422 million adults live with diabetes, mainly in developing countries.
Issuing Warnings Over Undisclosed Promotions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reprimanded over a dozen health influencers who posted videos on TikTok and Instagram discussing sugar and the artificial sweetener aspartame. Notably, The Verge reported that these influencers failed to disclose that their posts were paid promotions by the American Beverage Association and The Canadian Sugar Institute.
FTC has warned that failure to include proper disclosures could lead to fines exceeding $50,000 for continued non-compliance. Samuel Levine, head of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, criticized the practice of trade groups hiring influencers without ensuring transparent disclosure of their affiliations.
The letters pointed out instances of inconspicuous placement, ambiguous language, or a lack of clear identification of the sponsors in the influencers' posts. While the health risks of aspartame may be debatable, the concern lies in the ethical implications of influential creators being paid by companies with a vested interest in these industries to counter claims online.
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In its warning to influencer Adam Pecoraro, the FTC referenced a specific video where the Instagram and TikTok influencer suggested that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) should be almost completely disregarded. He also claimed that IARC had "leaked" information to Reuters about identifying aspartame as a class 2B carcinogen.
The FTC expressed dissatisfaction with Pecoraro's use of the "paid promotion" tag on TikTok, stating that audible endorsements should be accompanied by audible disclosures.
FTC's Demands
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 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.
Concluding the communication, each letter urged the recipient 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.
Heading the legal aspects of this case is Cassandra Rasmussen, the lead staff attorney in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
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