Donal Skehan has become the latest celebrity to fall foul of the rules around paid promotions on social media platforms after being issued a compliance notice by the consumer watchdog late last month.
The celebrity chef, who has more than 650,000 followers on Instagram, was issued with the notice by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) after failing to properly label that he was paid for a post on the platform.
The notice was issued on July 28th after the CCPC found Mr Skehan had failed “to use the appropriate labels to disclose the commercial nature of the content published, relating to Wind Shore Goods”.
Wind Shore Goods is a Howth-based business which sells olive oils, condiments and ceramics.
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As part of the compliance notice, the chef was told that “in all future instances, and where a trader has paid for the promotion of a product or service, to use appropriate disclosure to make it clear that such promotion is a paid promotion”.
Under consumer protection law, social media influencers must not mislead consumers through unfair practices such as hidden or mislabelled advertising, or they could breach consumer protection law.
This means they must clearly label posts that are commercial in nature.
A social media post may still breach consumer protection law even if it is properly labelled if the content is false or misleading.
Last March former Irish rugby international Brian O’Driscoll also fell foul of the rules for posting content on social media that he had been paid to post without making it clear to his followings that it was effectively an ad.
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The issuing of the compliance notice to Mr Skehan comes as the CCPC and the Advertising Standards Authority signed a new data-sharing agreement that will allow the latter to share information it receives through its online reporting portal with the consumer body while remaining in line with data protection laws.
The agreement gives the CCPC greater access to reports from the public of potential breaches of the law.
The new data-sharing agreement means the ASA will have the ability to share information regarding suspected breaches, which the CCPC may investigate further.
The CCPC, as a statutory body, has a range of enforcement tools to ensure that consumer protection law is adhered to, including compliance notices, fixed payment notices, undertakings, prohibition orders and prosecution.
“Content from influencers must be clearly labelled as such and must also not be misleading,” said the CCPC’s Patrick Kenny. “The new data-sharing agreement allows the ASA to share reports from the public and will support us in protecting consumers when it comes to social media advertising.”
The chief executive of the ASA Orla Twomey, said it marked “a significant step towards enhancing regulatory outcomes for consumers in Ireland, ensuring a strong, responsive and resilient framework for the future.”
