• Consumer, you have the right to know whether content created by an influencer is an independent opinion or a paid advertisement.
• Influencer, you must tag commercial content in a clear, readable and understandable way. Do you always do so?
• The President of UOKiK has fined Filip Chajzer, Dorota Rabczewska and Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan [Polish influencers and celebrities] for incorrect tagging of advertising materials. The fine totals almost half a million PLN.

Advertisement or neutral content? This should be clear to everyone who sees a post on social media. The responsibility for respecting this distinction is borne by authors as well as agencies and advertisers. As content consumers, what can we have an impact on? In general, on the creators’ reach. You follow, you like, you share; but how often do you wonder if it is right to support someone who is not fair with you? The consequences of an unfair approach to advertising are indicated in the three most recent decisions of the President of UOKiK concerning incorrect tagging of advertising materials on Instagram.

– Our actions protect social media users from hidden advertising. Authors who do not tag sponsored content in a clear, readable and understandable way act unfairly - they mislead consumers by concealing the commercial nature of the published materials. This also distorts the competition with influencers who act fairly and affects the image of the entire industry. These decisions relate to unfair practices which Filip Chajzer, Dorota Rabczewska and Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan have engaged in for a number of years. In total, we have imposed fines of almost half a million zlotys on those influencers. We have taken into account the duration and scope of their actions as well as well as their impact on their audiences’ - says President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

Ambiguously tagged

Filip Chajzer published advertising content at the behest of several entities, such as Thai Bali Spa, New Balance or the Skoda Auto Wimar car dealership. In his commercial posts, he tagged only the brand, as he did in neutral accounts from his private shopping or daily activities. After he was charged, he would use recommended hashtags #reklama (advertisement) or #współpracareklamowa (advertising cooperation), but he placed the hashtags at the bottom of the post which made them invisible when the post was first seen. Consumers have the right to know before they read a post if it is an advertisement or not. The President of UOKiK fined the Filip Chajzer Warsaw Media company to the amount of 80,895 PLN and ordered him to discontinue the practice.

“My fans knew”?

Dorota Rabczewska conducted a number of paid promotional campaigns, for instance, at the behest of cosmetic brand Sodore, the WhitePress advertising agency, or the Activlab and Raibow Tours brands. She usually tagged advertising materials only by stating the brand name or attaching  #współpraca (cooperation) in a way that made it visible only once the description was expanded. She claimed that her fans knew anyway what brands she had advertising cooperation deals with, thus neglecting the requirement that advertisement be unambiguously tagged regardless of who watches it and what they know about its author. The President of UOKiK fined the Queens Records Dorota Rabczewska company to the amount of 191,523 PLN and ordered her to discontinue the practice.

Perfect appearances

Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan provided advertising services for several dozen businesses, including Henkel Polska, Noyo Pharm, Oceanapart and AllNutrition. In her publications, she only indicated the name of the brand and sometimes added the #współpraca (cooperation) hashtag, but in a way that made it almost invisible. She suggested repeatedly that using actually advertised products was a personal consumer choice, =hiding promotional content under the guise of answers to questions from followers. Additionally, she provided discount codes without disclosing that she was remunerated for it or that she received a commission for the sales of the recommended products. The President of UOKiK imposed a fine of 220,267 PLN on Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan. The influencer altered her actions before the decision was issued and in recent months has been using the recommended tags.

– The three influencers promoted products of various brands while failing to use unambiguous tags. Commercial publications were similar to neutral materials also in terms of content and style; for example, they suggested spontaneity in the choice of product or were masqueraded as answers to followers’ questions. Occasionally they were tagged only with the name of the brand, in an ambiguous manner or in a manner that made it harder to notice - concludes President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

The decisions are not final. The entrepreneurs have the right to appeal to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

#OznaczamReklamy (I Tag Ads) – how to tag advertisements correctly?

Entrepreneurs should communicate both the brand being advertised and the commercial nature of the content in a clear way. The tag should be unambiguous and made immediately at the time of the publication in a visible place, e.g. at the beginning of the description or recording. It is important to make the commercial nature clear for consumers. You should use some recommended expressions such as #reklama (advertisement) or #materiał sponsorowany (sponsored material), typed with a font which is large and legible enough. You can find more information about tagging commercial content in the Recommendations of the President of UOKiK.

– We have been monitoring the market, analysing the industry and verifying activities of social platforms. Influencers who do not observe the law may expect consequences. In recent months, as a result of our actions, the profiles of various influencers, featured declarations on changing their practices and adhering to the Recommendations. We will be persistent in eliminating irregularities in the influencer marketing market. Consumer awareness is also of key nature in the fight against crypto-advertisement and other alarming practices on the Internet. Let me remind you that we all have an impact on how we use social media - explains President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.