From next year, the Fair Trade Commission will punish so-called'back advertisements' in which YouTubers and others do not properly display advertisements.
Until now, only advertisers were punished for violating the Display Advertising Act, but in the future, YouTubers, influencers, and celebrities will also face sanctions.
According to the Fair Trade Commission today (25th), the'Indications and Ads Review Guidelines on Recommendations and Guarantees, etc.', which prohibit back advertisements on SNS, will be implemented in earnest from January of next year through a period of guidance until the end of the year.
A'business owner' who has made unreasonable advertisements such as posting content disguised as'product reviews' without notifying that it is an advertisement must pay a penalty of not more than 2% of related sales or income, or less than 500 million won.
Business owners usually refer to advertisers, but the FTC believes that this also applies to YouTubers who are engaged in the act of receiving economic compensation while notifying products on social media, or influencers who have made significant profits from related content.
Although the guidelines for screening have been implemented since last month, the Fair Trade Commission decided to focus on the guidance until the end of the year, such as forming a consumer monitoring group and requesting voluntary correction of back advertisements instead of immediately penalizing them.
This is because I think it is effective to induce the industry to autonomously follow the guidelines rather than the FTC cracking down on the numerous videos and photos posted on YouTube and Instagram.
Fair Trade Commissioner Cho Sung-wook also attended the'Consumer Issues on SNS Platform' symposium on the 23rd and said, "We plan to support the industry's voluntary compliance activities and strengthen the monitoring of unfair social media ads."
The FTC also plans to form a consultative body with the industry to encourage advertisers and famous YouTubers to follow the guidelines.
However, if a YouTuber or influencer publishes a back advertisement next year, it may be punished as an unfair advertisement.
An official from the FTC said, "If the industry announces a case of back advertisement, the FTC will voluntarily request correction and, if it is not corrected, we will review the method of sanctioning it." I will do it."
If consumers watch the video without knowing that it is a back advertisement, not only influencers and advertisers but also YouTube earn money, and the responsibility of related online platform operators is expected to increase.
Although it is still in its infancy, discussions are emerging overseas to strengthen the responsibility of platform operators related to back advertising.
Rohit Chopra, a standing member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issued a statement in February about the requirements for online platform operators and what businesses and celebrities should comply with, and initiated the process of collecting public opinions.
An official from the FTC said, "Online platform operators need to find a way to easily display advertisements, and consider restrictions on the use of YouTubers who do not disclose that they are back advertisements."