Instagram influencers: German court clarifies rules for ads

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that social media content that includes product recommendations, pictures, and tags to companies does not necessarily have to be labeled as advertising.

However, judges said posts should be flagged up as commercials if they were “excessively promotional,” or if an online influencer received something in return.

What did the judges say?

The judges in Karlsruhe said social media influencers may refer to and recommend products in photos without having to use an ad label.

This applies as long as the content does not become too promotional in nature.

Instagram influencers could also use so-called “tap tags” — links from posted pictures — to the social media accounts of companies.

However, the court said, these tags should not directly link to a company homepage or product website.

“The mere fact that pictures on which the product is depicted are provided with tap tags is not sufficient for the assumption of advertising excess,” the judges said. 

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Bianca ‘Bibi’ Classen

  Bianca Classen a.k.a. “BibisBeautyPalace” has been pretty successful playing the girl-next-door on social media. Her fortune is estimated at around €3 million ($3.6 million). That is her income from her YouTube videos (with almost six million subscribers), Instagram advertising collabs (with almost eight million followers), and her own beauty brand.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Younes Zarou

  Younes Zarou is the most successful TikTok star in Germany. He has about 30 million followers on his two accounts. He uploads colorful videos with accompanying DIY videos on the rapidly growing platform. In March 2020, he entertained his followers live on TikTok around the clock for a month.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Pamela Reif

  Pamela Reif was tried in 2020 on charges of hidden advertising and lost the case. The court declared that advertising must be marked as such on Instagram — even if it is only a gratuitous recommendation. This did not put a dent in the fitness influencer’s popularity though, and her videos boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Lisa and Lena

  Lisa and Lena Mantler started uploading lip-syncing and dance videos when they were 13 years old onto a platform called Musical.ly, which later became TikTok. They were a big hit, but withdrew from the platform in March 2019 due to security concerns — only to return in May 2020, much to the delight of their international fanbase.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Gronkh

  Born Erik Range, Gronkh is a veteran of the gaming scene and one of its most successful influencers. He has had a YouTube channel since 2010, and for two years, he had the most subscribers among all German channels. He became known through the “Let’s Play” videos, in which he filmed himself playing video games. Gronkh is also successful on the streaming channel Twitch.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Stefanie Giesinger

  Fashion, beauty and travel are all topics that go down well with Instagram users — a fact Stefanie Giesinger, who is one of the top German influencers in these areas, is well aware of. Crowned “Germany’s Next Topmodel” in 2014, she’s only occasionally seen on the catwalk these days. She has also founded her own sustainable fashion label.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Rezo

  This YouTuber’s video, “The destruction of the CDU,” which criticizes Angela Merkel’s governing party, the CDU, created a stir in Germany in 2019, and was viewed over 18 million times. YouTube said it was the most-viewed video in Germany that year. This shows how relevant YouTubers like Rezo have become. In addition to political videos, Rezo also makes regular entertainment videos.

• New role models? The rise of the German influencers

  Marie Nasemann

  She is one of the most popular influencers who focus on sustainability. Marie Nasemann writes about sustainable fashion in her blog “Fairknall.” She is one of the “sense-fluencers” who use their reach to discuss what they consider meaningful, important topics like sustainability, feminism or vegan nutrition.

  Author: Maria John Sánchez

Why was the question asked?

The Karlsruhe court effectively agreed with past rulings when it came to social media advertising.

The Association of Social Competition (VSW) — a Berlin-based association that purports to fight unfair competition practices — had filed three legal objections to what it claimed was surreptitious, unlabeled advertising.

The cases were against Bavaria-based influencer Cathy Hummels, Hamburg fashion influencer Leonie Hanne and Göttingen fitness influencer Luisa-Maxime Huss.

Two of the VSW’s lawsuits were unsuccessful; Hummels and Hanne were deemed not to have broken the law because they did not receive anything in return. This was upheld by the BGH on Thursday.

However, the VSW complaint against Huss was successful at the time. Judges believed that a case involving an unlabeled post about a raspberry jam represented a violation of competition law.

Internet users who tapped on a picture of the jam would see the name of the manufacturer. Tapping this would see them redirected to the company’s Instagram profile.

Judges in the original case believed the fact that both Huss and the manufacturer benefitted resulted in an advertising advantage. Judges at the BGH agreed, although the redirecting of users to the firm’s Instagram account — rather than its own website — was not, in itself, a breach that should require labeling.

rc/sms (dpa, AFP)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/instagram-influencers-german-court-clarifies-rules-for-ads/a-59135795?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf