UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Federal Trade Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of the Chair

Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan

Regarding the Endorsement Guides Review

Commission File No. P204500

May 19, 2022

Today, the Commission is voting on releasing proposed revised “Guides Concerning Use 

of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” and publishing a Notice seeking comment on 

them (“Revised Guides”). These Guides tell companies how to use endorsements, testimonials, 

influencers, and consumer reviews in ads without deceiving consumers.

These revisions come at a time when influencer marketing is becoming increasingly 

prevalent and as consumers increasingly rely on online consumer reviews to decide what to buy. 

Reports indicate that the global influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately 

$16.4 billion in 2022.1 Indeed, more than 75% of brand marketers intend to dedicate a budget to 

influencer marketing in 2022.2 Influencers who are paid, receive free product or services, or have 

a relationship with a brand sometimes fail to disclose that material connection, hoping to appear 

more authentic to consumers. Consumers’ increasing reliance on online reviews can also 

incentivize advertisers to harness fake reviews, suppress negative reviews, and amplify positive 

ones.

I want to highlight three novel aspects of these Revised Guides that strike me as 

especially important. 

First is the Revised Guides’ guidance on platforms’ relationships with influencer 

marketing. Digital platforms profit from influencer marketing and should bear greater 

responsibility in this area.3 The Revised Guides warn that some platforms’ disclosure tools are 

inadequate and may expose influencers to liability or, in some instances, leave platforms 

themselves open to liability. 

Second is the Revised Guides’ explicit guidance on consumer reviews, and specifically 

the discussion of how encouraging fake reviews and suppressing negative reviews can result in 

law violations. This guidance reflects recent enforcement actions the agency has taken—

1 Werner Geyser, The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report, INFLUENCER MKTG. HUB (Mar. 2, 

2022), https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/. 2 Id. In addition, the global number of influencer marketing related service offerings grew by 26% in 2021 alone, 

reaching 18,900 firms offering or specializing in influencer marketing services.

3 Ellen Simon, How Instagram Makes Money, INVESTOPEDIA (March 17, 2022), 

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/030915/how-instagram-makes-money.asp (noting that, in 

2019, Instagram generated $20 billion in advertising revenue and that 69% of America’s marketers planned to spend 

most of their 2020 influencer budget on Instagram).
including a recent final order settling allegations that Fashion Nova blocked negative reviews of 

its products from being posted on its website.4

Third is the Revised Guides’ warning that child-directed influencer advertising is of 

special concern to the Commission. Those who market to children cannot assume that 

compliance with these guides is a safe harbor. 

The kid influencer marketplace is estimated to be as large as $1.7 billion and is rapidly 

growing.5 This type of child-directed influencer advertising can pose a host of risks. As one 

recent report noted, “unless children are able to differentiate between advertising and other forms 

of entertainment, and grasp the persuasive intent of advertising, then they are at risk of 

deception. This is especially true for children under 12, whose advertising literacy—all 

knowledge and skills related to understanding advertising—has not yet fully developed.”6

There is currently no clear or consistent approach to addressing the problem, and 

Congress and advocacy groups have called on the FTC to provide guidance on this issue.7 While 

we presently lack the full evidentiary record to support specific guidance or to propose best 

practices, I am eager for more input that will support more concrete action in this important area. 

Accordingly, in tandem with issuing the Revised Guides today, we are announcing an event to 

gather information on stealth advertising targeting children. The public event will be held in 

October and will focus on the blurring of advertising and programming content in child-directed 

digital media.

I am eager for robust participation at this event and will look forward to learning from the

public as we consider how to move forward on this important and timely issue.

***

4 Decision and Order, In re Fashion Nova, LLC, No. C-4759 (F.T.C. 2022),

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/1923138C4759FashionNovaOrder_0.pdf. 5 Agnieszka Guttmann, Kids Advertising Spending Worldwide 2012-2021, By Format, STATISTA (April 7, 2020), 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/750865/kids-advertising-spending-worldwide/. 6 Miriam Rahali & Sonia Livingstone, #SPONSOREDADS: MONITORING INFLUENCER MARKETING TO YOUNG 

AUDIENCES 8 (2002), http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/113644/7/Sponsoredads_policy_brief.pdf. 7 See, e.g., Letter from Rep. Eshoo, Rep. Castor & Sen. Markey to Joseph J. Simons, Chair, Fed. Trade Comm’n 

(Aug. 22, 2019), https://eshoo.house.gov/sites/eshoo.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Eshoo-MarkeyCastor%20follow%20up%20letter%20to%20FTC%20re%20predatory%20online%20ads%20%28002%29.pdf; 

Letter from Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Markey, and Rep. Eshoo to Joseph J. Simons, Chair, Fed. Trade Comm’n (Dec. 

6, 2019), https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2019.12.06%20-%20FTC%20-

%20Child%20Influencers.pdf; Letter from Laura Smith, Legal Director, Truth in Advertising, Inc. & Bonnie Patten, 

Executive Director, Truth in Advertising, Inc. to Andrew Smith, Director, Bureau of Consumer Prot., Fed. Trade 

Comm’n & Mary Engle, Associate Director, Div. of Advertising Pracs., Fed. Trade Comm’n (Aug. 28, 2019), 

https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/8_28_19-ltr-to-FTC-re-Ryan-ToysReview_Redacted.pdf.