Houston Chronicle

UK says Instagram will crack down on ‘hidden advertisin­g’

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LONDON — Regulators here said Friday that Instagram will clamp down on “hidden advertisin­g” by social media influencer­s.

The U.K.’s Competitio­n and Markets Authority said Instagram’s owner Facebook has committed to tightening policies to restrict influencer­s who don’t disclose they’re being paid to promote businesses on its platform.

It’s part of an investigat­ion into the influencer industry the watchdog launched two years ago.

Regulators were concerned Instagram wasn’t doing enough under consumer protection laws to stop hidden advertisin­g, which is illegal in the U.K.

They want to make it harder to mislead people with posts that aren’t labeled as ads.

Under the new policy, Instagram will ask users to confirm if they’re getting a reward for promoting a product or service and if they are, make them disclose it clearly.

The company also will start using technology and algorithms to spot users who haven’t clearly revealed that their posts are advertisem­ents, and then report those users to the businesses they’re promoting.

Instagrama­lso is opening up its “paid partnershi­p” tool, so thatany user candisplay a label at the top of a post.

The changes apply to anyoneglob­allywhois targeting Instagram users in the U.K.

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