Navigating the rules & regulations of sponsored content online, with lawyer Pete Lewin


“ignorance isn’t an excuse”

Influencer marketing – endorsement by popular ‘real people’ like bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers barely existed four years ago. I can remember googling for agencies as I waited to quit my day job, and finding only a handful, mainly in the States. Repeat that search now and you’ll find 100s, all promising to link businesses with the biggest and most influential names on social media – all for a price.

A few weeks ago, Instagram introduced a new system for declaring sponsored content. Off the back of this, I wrote a post tackling

the rules & regulations governing sponsored content and freebies for influencers, and Instagram’s new guidance for disclosing this. Whether you’re an influencer, a small business or even just an avid browser of social media, these rules affect us all, and are not always easy to follow.

I got in touch with

Pete Lewin from Purewal and Partners in London, to get into the nitty-gritty, and hear a clued up professional’s take on where it’s all heading.

Things we talk about in this episode:

  • The difference between a free product and paid promotions
  • Differences between US and UK regulations, and which we need to follow
  • Whether Influencers are under greater pressure to be transparent than traditional media
  • What the possible outcomes of failing to disclose are
  • What our obligations are when our content will be consumed in countries with different regulations to our own
  • How best to protect yourself as an influencer or business using influencer marketing
  • What to look for when seeking legal advice on issues like this

Links from this episode: