CCPC Enforcement Against Brand Owner Influencers

In a further round of recent compliance notices, the CCPC has again highlighted the perils of non-compliance with consumer protection legislation and its guidance on paid social media posts. This time, high-profile influencers promoting their own brands are in the firing line. What does this mean for food and drink businesses?

What you need to know

• The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has taken action against brand owner influencers promoting their own brands
• It issued enforcement notices against Conor McGregor and Suzanne Jackson regarding their social media posts
• This serves as a reminder of the importance of correctly labelling promotional social media posts, reels and stories
• Consumer legislation and CCPC Guidelines need to be complied with, even if promoting your own brand

The CCPC is taking action against non-compliant “own brand” influencers. It recently published enforcement actions against Conor McGregor and Suzanne Jackson, regarding social media posts.

In each of these cases, those involved were acting as influencers promoting their own businesses, rather than getting paid directly to promote a third-party brand. Under the CCPC Guidance on Influencer Advertising and Marketing, “a benefit” is defined broadly. It includes:

• Monetary payment
• Commissions
• Proceeds from sales
• Gifts, and
• Matters relating to company shareholding and future business contracts

Conor McGregor operates the Instagram account @thenotoriousmma. The CCPC confirmed that both Mr McGregor and his company, Forged Stout Limited are “traders” within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act 2007. The CCPC detailed three posts to his Instagram cccount promoting his Forged Irish Stout brand from June 2024.

It held that these posts were a breach of section 55(1)(q) of the Consumer Protection Act 2007. That provision prohibits the use of editorial content in media to promote a product where the trader has paid for the promotion, unless it is made clear that the content is a paid promotion. His posts did not use the notation “Ad”. The CCPC noted that labelling such as ‘#Ad’ or ‘Ad’ used with a post in a clear way will address the issues raised. For an in-depth analysis of the CCPC Guidelines on social media influencer advertising and the correct labels to use, please see our previous article.

The CCPC directed Conor McGregor to ensure that in all future instances where he uses editorial content in the media to promote a product or service, he makes it clear it is a paid promotion. This includes social media stories, reels, posts, collaborations and any media where he is promoting any product or service including his “own brand” products and services.

Similarly, the CCPC found that Suzanne Jackson was in breach for a number of her posts on her Instagram account @sosueme_ie. She had failed to disclose that products relating to her SOSU Cosmetics brand were promoted in a paid capacity. The CCPC noted that both she and Cohar Limited are traders for the purpose of the Act and found that she was paid directly or indirectly by Cohar Limited for the posts.

Interestingly, Conor McGregor was only directed to make the change to future posts. In contrast, Suzanne Jackson was directed to remedy the past breaches and make the change to future posts. Ms Jackson has amended the posts in question by adding the discretionary secondary label “Own Brand”, but has not yet added the primary mandatory disclosure labels of “Ad” or “#Ad”. At the date of writing, Conor McGregor’s posts in question remained unchanged.

Conclusion

Businesses in the food and beverage industry often use influencers to promote their products on social media. Many of these businesses benefit from an owner or part-owner who acts as an influencer for the brand.

Both of the high-profile enforcement notices serve as a timely reminder to influencers and brands to comply with the legislation and the CCPC Guidelines. Brands should review their social media posts and agreements with influencers to ensure that they comply.

For further discussion on influencers and brand protection, please see our previous article.

Please reach out to a member of our Food, Agribusiness & Beverage team for more information and expert advice.

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The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.