WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission warned two trade associations and 12 dieticians and online influencers about social media posts promoting aspartame or sugary products without disclosing that they had been paid, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
Online influencers are required to disclose on their posts when they are paid to promote products.
In letters to the American Beverage Association and Canadian Sugar Institute, the FTC said it was concerned that influencers the groups had hired to post on Instagram and TikTok did not properly identify their posts as advertising.
“It’s irresponsible for any trade group to hire influencers to tout its members’ products and fail to ensure that the influencers come clean about that relationship,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in a statement.
Neither organization immediately responded to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Jasper Ward and Andrea Ricci)
