Rules and ethics
Part of Check micro influencer marketing rules and ethics before you brief
Micro influencer marketing advertising rules: paid-promotion labels, children's data and the £1,000 trading allowance
A practical checklist for UK micro-influencer campaigns: the DMCC Act rule on paid promotion, labels, ICO duties for children and the creator tax filing.
What to take away
- A paid post that looks like personal opinion is the core risk, whatever the follower count.
- Paid promotion that is not made clear is always an unfair practice.
- Labels such as "ad" or "#Ad" must be clear, prominent and easy to understand.
- Where children appear in or are reached by content, their best interests come first.
- Creators with gross trading income over £1,000 in a tax year need to register for Self Assessment.
- This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice. Take a qualified adviser's view on your own facts.
Who the rules apply to
Paid promotion must be labelled from the first paid post, not the first thousand followers. A creator with a small audience who is paid, gifted or otherwise incentivised by a brand may be promoting that brand. Both the advertiser and the creator should treat the post as advertising.
DMCC Act Schedule 20 lists commercial practices that are in all circumstances considered unfair. One is using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear. A legal owner should decide how it applies to a given post. See the UK rules and compliance guide for the wider map.
Authorities and rules at a glance
Four regimes touch a paid micro-influencer post. The table names each authority and the rule a creator or brand should work to.
| Area | Authority / Rule | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer law | CMA and Trading Standards (Northern Ireland: Department for the Economy); DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 | Make paid promotion clear in the content |
| Advertising codes | ASA and the CAP Code | Label paid posts clearly as an ad |
| Children's data | ICO; Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's code), a statutory code under the Data Protection Act 2018; UK GDPR | Put the child's best interests first |
| Tax | HMRC; Self Assessment; trading allowance | Register if gross trading income is over £1,000 |
Labels that make the promotion clear
The paid nature of a post must be clear to the person who sees it. That points to a plain label placed where a viewer meets it before engaging. Put it at the start of the caption, not after a wall of hashtags.
Labels that work include "ad", "advert", "#Ad", "advertising" and "advertisement". Unclear terms such as "#gifted" leave doubt, and so does a brand tag or discount code on its own. Keep the label visible on every format, including stories and reels.
Platform paid partnership tools
Some platforms label content automatically, with wording such as "paid partnership" or "branded content". Use these tools where they exist, provided the label is clear and easy to see. If the tool does not clearly convey that the post is an ad, add "#Ad" in a clear, upfront position as well.
Gifts, loans and freebies
A free product is a benefit. If the brand sets the brief, chooses the shots or approves the caption, treat the post as paid promotion and label it. The free products guide explains how creators handle gifts.
Affiliate links are promotion too. A commission link in a post about a product the creator has never used can mislead. Keep the label visible even when the link sits in a bio or a pinned comment. If you are unsure whether a post counts, label it.
Children and young audiences
Campaigns aimed at children or featuring a creator's own children need more care. When you design online services likely to be accessed by a child, make the child's best interests a primary consideration.
Children's code, UK GDPR and the ICO
Filming a child in a paid post involves their personal data, so get parental consent and avoid identifying details such as a school uniform or house number.
Tax and record keeping (HMRC)
The GOV.UK trading allowance guidance states that you can get up to £1,000 each tax year in tax-free allowances for trading income. Gross income above that figure means registering for Self Assessment by 5 October in the following tax year.
Income includes cash fees and the value of gifted items where they are trading income. Keep a simple log of each campaign with the brand, date, fee, product value and label used.
A briefing checklist
Work through these before the first post goes live.
- Set out in the commercial contracts who writes the caption and who approves it.
- Put the label in the brief, not in a follow-up email.
- State which paid partnership tools the creator must use, and add "#Ad" if a tool is unclear.
- Confirm whether children are in the content or the audience.
- Ask for a screenshot of the live post with the label visible.
- Set a review date to check the post is still up and still labelled.
- Note the fee, gifted value and payment date for tax records.
Run the quality checklist at sign-off, and use the guide to audit a campaign afterwards.
Common questions
Does a gifted post need an ad label?
Yes, if the brand has any control over the content. A free product in exchange for coverage is a benefit, so label it. If you are unsure, disclose.
Who is liable if a post is not labelled?
Both the brand and the creator can be affected, so put the disclosure duty in the contract. State who writes the label, who checks it and who removes or corrects a post that lacks one.
Do I need to register for Self Assessment as a micro influencer?
Register by 5 October in the following tax year if gross trading income for a tax year is more than £1,000. Check the current guidance and speak to an accountant about your circumstances.
Can I film my child in a paid post?
You can, but their personal data is involved. Get consent, avoid identifying details and put the child's best interests first. For anything complex, take a qualified adviser's view.
