- Improvement of Disclosure Methods for Economic Interests in Blogs and Other Platforms -
- Inclusion of Recently Popular SNS Advertising Types in the Disclosure Targets for Economic Interests -
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "KFTC") has issued an administrative notice regarding the amendment to the "Review Guidelines on the Labeling and Advertising of Recommendations and Endorsements" (hereinafter referred to as the "Review Guidelines") from August 20 to September 9. The amendment aims to improve the methods for disclosing economic interests and clarify the meaning of economic interests.
This amendment to the Review Guidelines was initiated to address several issues that have arisen during the operation of the system. Under the current Review Guidelines, when making recommendations or endorsements through text-based media such as blogs or internet cafes, the disclosure of economic interests is required to be made at the beginning or end of the post. However, if disclosed at the end, it may be difficult for consumers to easily recognize the information, especially if the post is lengthy.
Additionally, in cases where a review of a product includes a purchase link, and compensation is received based on the sales performance from that link, or when an influencer receives a refund for a product after writing a review, the disclosure of economic interests is also required. However, the current Review Guidelines may be interpreted as requiring disclosure only when compensation is received in advance.
To address this, the amendment requires that when recommendations or endorsements are made through text-based media, the disclosure of economic interests should be made in the title or at the beginning of the post, allowing consumers to more easily recognize that it is an "advertisement."
Furthermore, the amendment includes examples of recent popular SNS marketing types in the category of "cases where economic interests affect the credibility of the recommendations or endorsements." It also clarifies that economic interests exist even in cases where compensation is received in the future or conditionally.
Finally, based on recent monitoring, expressions such as "may receive a certain commission," which imply conditional or uncertain compensation, have been added to the examples of "cases that do not constitute clear content," as they suggest that the content may not be an advertisement.
With this amendment, it is expected that consumers will be able to more easily recognize that product reviews are "advertisements," and that advertisers and influencers will benefit from clearer guidelines, enhancing the effectiveness of the Review Guidelines and improving the predictability of legal violations.
The KFTC plans to finalize and implement the amendment after reviewing opinions from stakeholders and relevant agencies during the administrative notice period (August 20, 2024 – September 9, 2024) and going through the procedures such as the resolution of the full committee.