– Consumers have the right to know when they’re being exposed to advertising, and hidden advertising is forbidden by Norwegian law. If for example the owner of an Instagram account receives remuneration for posting photos of a specific brand of clothing, the post needs to be labelled as advertising, says Consumer Ombudsman Gry Nergård.
The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman has worked extensively with preventing hidden advertising.
The new guidelines cover both blogs and social media in general. The guidelines contain examples of how ad posts can be labelled to adhere to the legal requirements.
The guidelines have been widely distributed to e.g. leading bloggers and popular Instagram users that actively market products or services through social media.
Breaching the law can lead to sanctions being imposed by the Consumer Ombudsman.
Click here to read the guidelines.
Press contact at the Consumer Ombudsman:
Gry Nergård, Consumer Ombudsman (Tel: +47 99 00 50 80)