The Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance for businesses and brands on reviews and social media endorsements so as to ensure that their activities are compliant with new requirements under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. 

On the subject of reviews, the guidance is directed both at businesses whose products are being reviewed, and PR, marketing or SEO companies. In the case of the former, much of the advice is self-explanatory: do not pretend to be a customer and write reviews about your own products or commission third parties to do so; do not engage others to do the same; and do not offer inducements to customers to write positive reviews. As for PR, marketing and SEO companies, the CMA advises that staff are adequately trained and that internal policies, contracts, and other materials accurately reflect the requirements of the law.  

On the subject of social media endorsements, the CMA’s guidance for brands sits alongside and echoes much of the separate advice that was published for influencers and content creators (on which we commented here). For example, brands are reminded that they have a responsibility to ensure that all promotional content on social media should be clearly labelled as ads. Similarly, when engaging content creators, brands are encouraged to ensure that they understand their legal obligations and to direct content creators to policies that clearly set out what is expected of them. Even then, the guidance also calls on brands to monitor content that is posted by creators to ensure that it is compliant with the law and, if it is not, to take steps to correct it and, if necessary, reconsider working with the creators in the future. 

To read the guidance in full, click here.