In response to an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom, Instagram will soon add stronger enforcement measures for sponsored content. Recent research reported by BBC finds that more than 75% of influencer ads are not clearly labelled.
Creators will soon receive prompts that ask them to indicate if their content is tied to brand incentives before they post. Instagram will also play a more proactive role in monitoring sponsored content. A new algorithm will be used to find ad content, and posts that are not clearly marked will be reported to the brand being endorsed.
In the United States, the FTC has also pledged to crack down on influencer marketing. In February the commission announced plans to codify endorsement guidelines and develop requirements for social platforms that benefit from influencer marketing.