In short: If a brand paid you or gave you a product, and you publish the result, followers have to be able to tell. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says the disclosure must be hard to miss, placed with the endorsement itself (not only in a profile, at the end of a post or among hashtags), and written in simple words such as “ad”, “advertisement” or “sponsored”. Other countries have their own versions — in Germany, for example, commercial content must be clearly recognisable as advertising.
Two different situations
UGC creates two situations that are easy to confuse:
- The creator publishes the content on their own channels (as an influencer would). The creator’s relationship with the brand — payment, free product, any connection — has to be disclosed to their followers.
- The brand publishes the content on its channels (the usual UGC case). The video is then the brand’s own advertising. The brand’s obligations are those of any advertiser: the ad must be recognisable as an ad, and what the video says must be truthful and honest — including that it should not pose as a spontaneous review by an unpaid customer if it is not one.
This article focuses on the FTC’s published guidance for the first situation, because it is the most detailed, and on principles that carry over to the second.
What the FTC says creators must do
The following comes from the FTC’s guidance for social media influencers, “Disclosures 101” (linked at the bottom):
- Disclose any connection to the brand — financial, employment, personal or family. That includes free or discounted products. Do not assume followers already know about the relationship.
- Put the disclosure where it cannot be missed: with the endorsement message itself, not only in a profile, at the end of a long caption, behind a “more” link or mixed into a block of hashtags.
- For video, disclose in the video itself, not just in the description. On a picture, superimpose the disclosure with enough time to read it. On a live stream, repeat it periodically.
- Use simple and clear words. “Thanks to [Brand] for the free product”, “advertisement”, “ad” and “sponsored” work. Vague abbreviations such as “sp”, “spon” or “collab” do not.
- Do not rely only on a platform’s built-in disclosure tool. Use it, but make sure your own wording is clear as well.
- The responsibility is yours: the FTC states that it is the influencer’s responsibility to make the disclosures and to be familiar with the Endorsement Guides.
- Only endorse what you have tried and actually think, and avoid unsubstantiated health or scientific claims.
Outside the US
The principle is the same in most places: paid promotion may not be disguised as something else. Some pointers, as we understand them — check the current rules and the regulator’s own guidance for your country before you rely on them:
- Germany: commercial content has to be clearly recognisable as advertising (Section 5a(4) of the Act against Unfair Competition, UWG). On social media the common labels are “Werbung” or “Anzeige”, placed visibly at the start of the content.
- EU generally: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive treats hiding the commercial nature of content as an unfair practice.
- UK: advertising regulators require social posts that are ads to be labelled clearly as such.
What this means for brands
- Tell creators how to disclose where the video will be published — and do not ask them to leave it out.
- Label your own ads as ads in the way the platform and your country require.
- Keep the content honest. A paid video should not present itself as an unprompted customer opinion. Do not script claims that are untrue.
- Do not add claims that the product itself cannot support — see skincare and cosmetic claims in UGC.
- Put it in the brief. A line in the UGC brief avoids the problem before it starts.
What this means for creators
- Label paid and gifted content clearly and early, in the video and in the caption, in words a follower understands.
- Use the platform’s paid-partnership tool as well as your own words.
- If you are unsure whether something counts as advertising, treat it as if it does.
- Say only what you really experienced and what the brand has given you.
A quick checklist
- Did the brand pay me, give me the product or have some other connection to me? → Disclose it.
- Is the disclosure in the video itself, near the start, in plain words? → Good.
- Is it hidden in hashtags, at the very end or behind “more”? → Fix it.
- Am I saying something the brand or product cannot support? → Remove it.
- Do I know the rules for the country where the video is published? → Check them.
How this works on Usicri
Videos made for a brand in return for payment are usually advertising, and under section 4 of the Terms of Service creators and brands are each responsible for following the advertising rules that apply to them — including the labelling requirements of the platform where a video is published. Usicri does not check videos or campaigns for compliance with advertising law before they are approved or published, so the checklist above is for you.