Influencers and covert advertising on social media

Abstract

The effort to guarantee the principle of authenticity in advertising disseminated by influencers on social networks has resulted in the drafting and approval of the Code of Conduct on the use of influencers in advertising, promoted by the Spanish Association of Advertisers (AEA), Autocontrol and the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, which came into force in January 2021. In the few months of life, the Advertising Jury of Autocontrol has issued six opinions and four resolutions in application of rule five, referring precisely to the requirement of clear and unequivocal identification of the advertising nature of any communication that intends this purpose, given the growing trend of commercial brands to use influencers' profiles to carry out (covert) advertising without users being aware of it.

This paper analyzes the adequacy of current self-regulatory measures to guarantee the principle of authenticity of advertising, particularly when it takes place through social networks and under the appearance of impartiality of an influencer.