Advice or advertising? The transparency of ‘influencers’ on networks
The influencers They have established themselves as a central phenomenon on social networks, and more and more brands are turning to them to promote their products. This trend is profoundly transforming consumption habits, especially among young people and minors, who are the ones who consume this content the most. However, this reality is giving rise to a structural problem: A massive volume of commercial content is currently circulating that is not properly identified, which can be misleading and violate consumer rights. This is shown by a legal study carried out by the ADICAE-Andalusia Consumer Association on the advertising carried out by influencers on social networks.
The cases analyzed reveal that, on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, a significant part of the sponsored posts of content creators do not incorporate any type of clear signage. An example are the discount codes presented as spontaneous recommendations without warning of the existence of a commercial relationship; direct mentions of brands in descriptions or video without indicating that there is a collaboration; or mixed covert promotion practices in which personal content is combined with advertising messages without clear separation. All these practices fail to comply with the obligations established by both Spanish and European regulations.
Detect misleading financial advertising
From ADICAE-Andalucía they warn about the rise of influencers financial, which They encourage investing without warning of the risks, especially in cryptocurrencies. A notable case is that of Dalas Reviewreported this year for promoting the PAMBI token—a crypto asset minted on the Solana network—promising high profits, which led many followers to invest and subsequently report a possible scam. According to the consumer association, cryptocurrencies are not backed by any institution and carry high risk.
On the other hand, some influencers encourage ‘playing the markets’ by daily buying and selling of sharespresenting it as something easy and accessible. However, these practices require constant dedication, are more like gambling than investing, and often cause losses, dependency, and a false sense of control. In addition, supposed gurus proliferate who sell mentoring and promise profits without having professional responsibility or being regulated by financial regulations.
Videos explaining how to advance retirement, how to stop working early or how to ‘live off of income’ are also gaining popularity on social networks. However, ADICAE-Andalucía points out that many of these pieces of advice are based on unusual economic situations among salaried workers and that following them without personal analysis can generate false expectations or lead to unrealistic decisions.
Greater regulation and responsibility in networks
In the legal study, ADICAE-Andalucía proposes a series of measures to improve the transparency of advertising on social networks. Among them stand out harmonization of signaling criteria between platformspromoting or even mandating the use of official advertising identification tools, implementing automated supervision systems and regulating minimum and clear visibility of the disclosure advertising.
Likewise, the association highlights the urgency of effective regulation and demands the approval of the Draft Law for the Improvement of Democratic Governance in Digital Services and Media. This regulatory framework should include, as a matter of necessity, the reinforcement by platforms of advertising identification mechanismsincreased monitoring and sanctioning of covert practices, and the adoption of transparent codes of conduct by influencers and brands. Furthermore, ADICAE-Andalucía requests that they be extended to influencers financial criteria for mandatory registration in the State Registry of audiovisual communication service providers, regulated by RD 444/2024.
