The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) can now share with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) the details of influencers who are not complying with advertising rules.
The two bodies signed a data-sharing agreement that the ASA said will strengthen the oversight of influencer and social media advertising.
The authority can now share with the CCPC the names, social media images and usernames of influencers who repeatedly fail to comply with the rules.
The ASA said the move is "a significant step in enhancing regulatory oversight and ensuring greater accountability of influencer advertising across social media platforms".
The CCPC said the "agreement allows the ASA to share reports from the public and will support us in protecting consumers when it comes to social media advertising".
It follows the publication in 2023 of guidelines for influencers and social media advertisers.
They detail how ads on social media, including the use of #ad on commercial content, must be clearly labelled and comply with the Consumer Protection Act and the ASA code.
The ASA - the independent advertising self-regulatory body - has the power to request the removal or amendment of posts that are in breach of its code.
The CCPC - the consumer protection watchdog - can issue compliance warnings, fixed payment notices and prohibition orders, as well as having the power to prosecute those who breach the rules.
Focus on 'repeat offenders' - ASA
The ASA's Deputy Chief Executive said it is important that consumers are aware when they are viewing an advertisement.
"We have a shared interest in consumer protection with the CCPC," Michael Lee told RTÉ's News At One.
"We collaborated with them for a more uniform way of influencers disclosing when they are posting commercial content on social media."
Mr Lee said the agreement is focused on "repeat offenders".
"We really need to reinforce what good behaviour looks like. We have seen there is lots of good behaviour, but there is still areas coming through where consumers are not being informed sufficiently that what they are reading is actually advertising content."
Mr Lee said the ASA found that, despite the CCPC guidance, non-compliant material is still appearing.
"We will now be working alongside the CCPC to collaborate further on sharing the data that we have gathered from members of the public where they have raised concerns on influencer merchant content.
"We will have names of influencers that we can share with the CCPC and influencer’s handles and we will work through a criteria of what can be shared."
Mr Lee said the CCPC will then decide on any action to be taken.
