The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance for social media platforms in relation to reviews and endorsements, setting out six ‘key compliance principles’. 

The guidance is part of a series of recent guidance from the CMA about new rules brought in under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, including advice for online review sites (discussed here), for content creators about endorsements (commented upon here), and for brands on reviews and social media endorsements (see here).  

The six principles contain measures that platforms can take to ensure that both they and their users avoid infringing consumer law, as follows: 

The CMA advises, for example, that platforms have clear policies setting out their position on incentivised endorsements and reviews, that clear and unambiguous guidance is provided for users about what is not permitted (and the consequences of non-compliance), and that the effectiveness of such policies is closely monitored. 

The CMA recommends the use of sufficiently sophisticated algorithms designed to detect suspected hidden advertising and fake reviews, and flagging with the relevant brand for confirmation. 

Platforms are advised to take “proactive steps to raise awareness and understanding among brands of your terms of service, policies and any other information relating to incentivised endorsements and fake reviews, and encourage brands to check that content which endorses them is properly labelled as advertising, and is genuine”. 

This includes promptly removing content which is confirmed to be hidden advertising or a fake review, applying ‘proportionate and effective’ sanctions to content creators, and notifying the CMA of repeat offenders. 

To read the guidance in full, click here.