Disclosures: Instagram Provides New Commitments To UK's CMA

Facebook (owners of Instagram in the UK) has committed to a package of changes to tackle what the CMA describes as "hidden advertising" on the Instagram platform. 

This is intended to make it harder for people to post an advert or incentivised post on Instagram without clearly labelling it as such. 

Clear labelling of incentivised posts is required under consumer protection law so that people are not misled. But to date, the ASA and CMA haven't always seen eye to eye on the best way to do this, and various guidance over the years has not always been clear or practical.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating hidden advertising on Instagram over concerns that too many social media influencers are posting content about businesses without making it clear when they have been paid or incentivised to do so. The CMA was concerned that Instagram was not doing enough to tackle the problem.