Influencer advertising disclosure guidelines in the Baltics
In December 2019, the State Consumer Rights Protection Service in Lithuania presented the Guidelines on Social Media Advertising Disclosure, which are relevant for brands that use influencers for advertising and for influencers themselves.
Since we started, our agency has emphasized contractually obliged clients and influencers to disclose advertising in on-demand posts on social media and other channels. We are happy to have a unified set of guiding principles to be followed by all interested parties—agencies, brands, and influencers.
It is important to note that the Law on Advertising of the Republic of Lithuania specifies that hidden advertising is prohibited and must be clearly identifiable if it is likely unrecognizable to consumers. Therefore, although these guidelines are recommendatory, the legal order provides that any form of advertising must be clearly identifiable to the consumer.
Disguised advertising means that information disseminated in any form and by any means about a manufacturer or service provider, its name or activities, or its trademark is presented in a way that might mislead the user about the true purpose of the information. In all cases, such communication is considered disguised advertising for which payment or other compensation is made.
You can find detailed guidelines on the Lithuanian State Consumer Rights Protection Service website. Here is a summary of what constitutes advertising and the basic rules for disclosing it.
Cases considered advertising
- Financial compensation for advertising. The influencer is paid for the product or service advertised.
- Free goods or services (gifts). A product, service, or discount is given for mentioning and publishing feedback.
- Events and travel. The influencer is invited to attend events and trips in return for public feedback or mention.
- Promotion of commercial entity. The influencer becomes a brand ambassador or partner.
- Contests and giveaways. The influencer organizes competitions or gives away brand-specific gifts.
- Discount codes. The influencer announces that a code provided by them can be used to buy goods or services with a discount.
- Expressed wish to receive a product or service. The influencer indicates in their entries that they want this good or service (if they got paid for it).
- Photos with the product or service visible. When the post gives the impression that the product in the photo is liked by the influencer, even without using text.
- Personal commercial activity. The influencer publishes a promotional post on their account about their commercial activities, for which a separate account is created.
- Social advertising (with exceptions). When followers are invited to donate to a charity or a specific campaign, the post must be tagged “social advertising”, “charity”, “name of the campaign (e.g., Unicef)”.
How to disclose ads on social media correctly?
Instagram / Facebook / TikTok posts. Use #ad or Advertising in the language of the country of origin (i.e., #reklama or Reklama in Lithuanian) at the beginning of the promotional text or immediately after the post.
The hashtag must be clearly readable: it should not be hidden or difficult to find in the text or among other hashtags, and it should not be combined with brand names, active links, or hashtags.
Inadequate or insufficient marking: using hashtags like #brandadvertising, #anywordadvertising, #ad, #sponsored, #paidpartnership, @brandadvertising, in non-English speaking countries, or formulations like “in partnership with”, “contest”, “partnership”, or website links.
Instagram / Facebook / Snapchat / TikTok stories. The hashtag #ad or Advertising (in the language of the country of origin) must be used on the first story where the brand is mentioned or displayed.
If the series of stories is longer than 3 pieces, the hashtag must be repeated.
The hashtag must be clearly visible—of sufficient size and color: it should not blend into the background or be obscured by other names or signs (for example, in the case of Instagram, “See more”, “Send message”, “Share”, etc.).
The same cases of inappropriate disclosure apply to posts.
Youtube. When a video (or part of a video) is promotional, the user is informed both in writing and verbally.
In a promotional video, the word ‘Advertising’ is clearly visible on the screen, and the advertiser verbally indicates that the video (or part of it) is sponsored by a particular brand.
The word ‘Advertising’ should also be present and clearly visible in the description of the video.
In long videos, the word ‘Advertising’ should appear several times.
Inappropriate or insufficient disclosure: only providing information at the end of the video, only including the Advertising tag in the video description.
Blog. Use #ad or Advertising at the beginning of the promotional text or immediately after the post.
Inadequate or insufficient marking: hashtags like#brandadvertising, #anywordadvertising, #ad, #sponsored, #paidpartnership, @brandadvertising in non-English speaking countries, or formulations like “in partnership with”, “contest”, “partnership”, or website links.
Ad disclosure rules in Latvia
Promotional content is tagged with the hashtag #reklāma (other allowed hashtags – #apmaksāts, #sponsorēts, #apmaksātasadarbība).
#reklāma or Reklāma (or other allowed hashtags)at the beginning of the promotional text or immediately after the post.
The hashtag must be clearly readable: it should not be hidden or difficult to find in the text or among other hashtags, and it should not be combined with brand names, active links, or hashtags.
The name of the partner, the advertiser, or the name of the gift-giver must be clearly indicated in the promotional text.
Ad disclosure rules in Estonia
Promotional content is tagged with the hashtag #reklaam or Instagram Paid Partnership.
The #reklaam hashtag is used at the beginning of the promotional text or in the title (e.g., in a blog post). In addition to the ad tag, the name of the partner, the advertiser, or the name of the gift-giver must be clearly indicated.
Example: #reklaam @rahva.raamat
The hashtag must be clearly readable: it should not be hidden or difficult to find in the text or among other hashtags, and it should not be combined with brand names, active links, or hashtags.
The hashtag must be clearly visible—of sufficient size and color: it should not blend into the background or be obscured by other names or signs (for example, in the case of Instagram, “See more”, “Send message”, “Share”, etc.).
Liability and validity in the Baltic States
Please note that the responsibility for marking the advertisement lies with both the advertiser and the influencer and that the marking requirement applies to all media: text, photos, and videos. The information must be marked as an advertisement whenever a product or service is mentioned.
In Lithuania, the use of disguised advertising can result in a fine of up to 3% of the previous year’s annual revenue (up to a maximum of €100,000) and up to 6% of the annual revenue (up to a maximum of €200,000) for repeated infringements.
In Latvia, a fine of up to €14,000 can be imposed for providing or disseminating advertising that does not comply with the requirements of the law and other legislation.
In Estonia, the placement, creation, or publication of advertising that violates the laws regulating advertising can result in a fine of up to €1,500 for a person and up to €10,000 for a legal entity.
