Finland: Opened consultation on draft guidelines on Influencer Marketing in Social Media (2024)

On 28 October 2024, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Agency (KKV) opened a public consultation on draft guidelines for influencer marketing in social media, until 11 November 2024. The draft guidelines instruct companies and influencers on the necessary communication of commercial collaborations under the Consumer Protection Act and outline obligations under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). According to the draft guidelines, the DSA requires social media platforms to provide influencers with a feature to indicate if their content includes advertising, and it mandates that platforms implement reporting mechanisms for illegal content, such as undisclosed advertising. These mechanisms must be accessible electronically, allowing users to report suspected illegal content, which platforms must then assess and act upon. The draft guidelines further clarify that under Article 26 of the DSA, platforms must ensure each advertisement is clearly labelled as such, identifies the sponsoring entity, and specifies the payer if different. Platforms must also supply tools enabling users to mark their content as containing commercial communication, making it visible in real time. Compliance with Article 16 of the DSA concerning illegal content reporting is overseen by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), while the consumer ombudsman monitors adherence to Article 26’s advertising disclosure requirements in Finland. For very large online platforms with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU, supervision is jointly carried out by the European Commission and the relevant national authority in the country where the platform’s headquarters are located.