Do Athletes Have to Tell Us When Their Posts Are #sponsored?

Social media influencers still fall in grey area of advertising rules.

It's subtle. You may not have even noticed it. Just a small hashtag athletes are using to declare when a social media post is part of a larger relationship with a company — an acknowledgment that what you're seeing is tied to a paid sponsorship.

The practice has become more common with American athletes and social media influencers, and Canadians seem to be following suit. Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard and snowboarder Mark McMorris are among those Canadian athletes who have recently tagged posts with the telltale #ad or #sponsored.

It's the legal world winding its way into athlete partnerships, but for now the rules seem more grey than black and white.

“There aren't any specific rules or guidance by [Canada's] Competition Bureau that look at social media influencers,” says Jim Dinning, a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, a firm specializing in competition law and information technology. “But technically, the legislation is broad enough to capture any deceptive advertising practice. Any information shared that isn't an independent view that influences a person's buying decision should be clearly and accurately labeled as advertising.”

Read full article and learn more about Deceptive Advertising here.

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