Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor and beauty influencer Suzanne Jackson have been served with compliance notices by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) for failing to disclose the commercial nature of some of their posts on Instagram.
The letter sent to Mr McGregor, who has over 46 million followers on the social media platform, said the posts breached legislation "by failing to disclose that products relating to 'Forged Irish Stout'" promoted on his Instagram account, were "promoted in a paid capacity, and without using appropriate disclosure labels such as ‘Ad’ ‘#ad’, etc".
The letter added: "We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the CCPC & ASAI Guidance on Influencer Advertising and Marketing, which provides useful information regarding disclosure language, and the scenarios when such disclosures must be made clear to consumers."
The breaches of consumer law related to three separate posts on Mr McGregor's Instagram account from June 2024, all of which were promoting his Forged Irish Stout brand.
The former MMA fighter was told by the CCPC that he had until 1 January this year to rectify the situation and ensure he was compliant with the law, and that his "social media channels will be the subject of further inspection ... to ensure adherence to these compliance directions".
Fashion and beauty influencer Ms Jackson, who owns the SoSueMe brand and has almost 300,000 Instagram followers, was also served with a compliance notice by the CCPC.
The consumer watchdog said she failed to "disclose that products relating to ‘SOSU Cosmetics’" promoted on her Instagram account "were promoted in a paid capacity".
The four breaches relating to Ms Jackson took place between December 2024 and February last year.
The CCPC told her to rectify the situation by making it "clear that the promotions are paid promotions" and the notice also suggested she familiarise herself with the guidance on influencer advertising.
In response to a query on the enforcement action, Ms Jackson told RTÉ News the CCPC contacted her over "ownership disclosure on a social media post from late 2024".
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"The post was shared on my personal page and related to a masterclass featuring my own brand and business.
"Upon receipt of the letter, the content was updated to ensure it was fully compliant. There was no issue raised in relation to other brands or partners I work with," she added.
Ms Jackson added she takes "advertising transparency very seriously and I am committed to being fully compliant with the relevant requirements.
"I fully accept the CCPC's findings in this case, which was a mistake on my part."
If a social media influencer is earning money from a particular post, they must disclose this by, for example, using the #ad hashtag.
If this is not declared, that is a breach of consumer law.
A compliance notice directs a business or individual to remedy any breach, but if that is not done they can be fined up to €5,000 and face imprisonment.
The compliance notices sent to Mr McGregor and Ms Jackson were included in 18 new enforcement actions taken by the CCPC against traders in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Mayo and Offaly for breaches of consumer protection legislation.
Among them were two fixed payment notices issued to forecourt retailer Circle K for failing to display product prices, while the Dublin Mint Office, which sells commemorative coins online, was served with three compliance notices relating to unfair contract terms, for having misleading information on its website and for failing to provide essential consumer information on the website.
Meanwhile, the owners of three Dublin pubs, The Auld Dubliner, Fitzsimons Temple Bar and Dakota Bar, were all issued with compliance notices for failing to display a price list.
Commenting on its enforcement actions, Patrick Kenny from the CCPC said: "Whether you're a retailer, a publican or an influencer, you must comply with consumer law.
"Our officers carry out hundreds of instore and online inspections, sweeps and investigations every year, assessing thousands of products and transactions to make sure consumer rights are upheld across the economy.
"CCPC teams will be actively monitoring compliance by these traders. Failure to obey a compliance notice is an offence, and we will prosecute those who do not correct their practices."
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The watchdog has been seeking stronger enforcement powers to address serious breaches of consumer law, including the ability to impose fines based on a business’s turnover.
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment recently launched a public consultation on proposed legislation that would allow the CCPC to issue direct fines for serious or repeated breaches.
Mr Kenny said "the ability to issue significant fines is an essential addition to our enforcement toolkit".
No special tax regime for influencers
Partner at Cork law firm RDJ Lisa Mansfield said Revenue has been "quite clear" that there is no special tax regime for influencers when it comes earnings on ads.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Ms Mansfield said: "It has been a hugely developing area in the last couple of years.
"It has moved from being an area with very little oversight to now being firmly in the focus of regulators in Ireland."
She said there has been a hugely significant shift in the enforcement landscape in the last couple of years
She said there are now two bodies working together, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
"Initially in the earlier days in influencer marketing, there may have been some uncertainty about how existing rules would apply to social media content but specific guidance has now been issued by those bodies in October 2023."
She said this has made it "crystal clear" what is expected of influencers.
Ms Mansfield said these include clear, upfront labelling of commercial content and the use of #ad on a post, which has to be clearly seen and not buried in a "see more".
She said the influencer is the party that is dealing directly with the consumer, so the "real obligation falls with them".
She added that brands are very aware of the reputational damage and loss of credibility of failing to correctly label an ad or post.
"What we have been seeing here with the CCPC compliance notices… is that the focus is really being targeted towards those influencers that are actually promoting their own brands. Maybe they feel that there is a grey area there," she said.
She added the CCPC has been "quite clear" in that if you are promoting content, whether it is your own brand or not, it must be labelled and you must comply with the rules.
