Australia's Watchdog is convincing the public and social media consumers to call out social media influencers who do not identify their posts as ads. The Australian Competition and Consumers Commission (ACCC) is asking the public to report all the influencers who seem to be promoting a product on their post, but do not explain that it's an advertisement. ACCC Spokesman said that they are monitoring the social media activities of influencers and actions will be taken against the influencers who are making misleading posts with mixed reviews about a product.
This can result in penalties of up to $2.5 million and this shows how serious ACCC is to wipe misleading posts. The Australian Association of National Advisors (AANA) is also putting forward some laws and rules for social media influencers. One rule is that if a social media activist or influencer gets a free product or payment from a brand, they have to make it obvious that it's an ad while promoting the product. If they are not successful in doing so, they have to face the penalty.
The rulings find out that sometimes there is a misunderstanding between the influencer and the brand, and the influencer doesn't post about the brand like the brands want them to. In some cases, brands argue that influencers post about a product too much, even more than what they are paid for. Sometimes, brands don't expect the influencer to make a post about their product but the influencer posts about it nonetheless. This is against the code of ethics set by AANA.
Many instances were seen where the brands and the influencers do not know what they have to do with the product. In one case, a TikTok star revealed that he was asked to promote a product but when he asked the brand to disclose the payment, they refused. He said that it was strange because if other influencers are not making a big deal about it, it seems like no one knows how promotion works. Now ACCC is working on reporting their work to the government so proper action can be taken.
Read next: Social Media Safety at an All-Time Low: Can Platforms Change the Trend?
This can result in penalties of up to $2.5 million and this shows how serious ACCC is to wipe misleading posts. The Australian Association of National Advisors (AANA) is also putting forward some laws and rules for social media influencers. One rule is that if a social media activist or influencer gets a free product or payment from a brand, they have to make it obvious that it's an ad while promoting the product. If they are not successful in doing so, they have to face the penalty.
The rulings find out that sometimes there is a misunderstanding between the influencer and the brand, and the influencer doesn't post about the brand like the brands want them to. In some cases, brands argue that influencers post about a product too much, even more than what they are paid for. Sometimes, brands don't expect the influencer to make a post about their product but the influencer posts about it nonetheless. This is against the code of ethics set by AANA.
Many instances were seen where the brands and the influencers do not know what they have to do with the product. In one case, a TikTok star revealed that he was asked to promote a product but when he asked the brand to disclose the payment, they refused. He said that it was strange because if other influencers are not making a big deal about it, it seems like no one knows how promotion works. Now ACCC is working on reporting their work to the government so proper action can be taken.
Read next: Social Media Safety at an All-Time Low: Can Platforms Change the Trend?
