Rules and ethics
Part of Check micro influencer marketing rules and ethics before you brief
Micro influencer marketing UK regulations: label gifted posts, document a lawful basis for creator data and check IR35
How to brief micro influencers under UK rules: CMA labelling guidance, PECR outreach, a UK GDPR lawful basis for creator data and IR35 status, with a briefing table.
What to take away
Micro influencer marketing UK regulations are the rules on advertising labels, personal data, outreach and tax status that apply when a brand pays or gifts a creator to promote something.
- Label paid and gifted posts as ads before the audience engages.
- Any form of incentive or reward counts as payment, including gifts of products.
- Document a UK GDPR lawful basis before you use creator or audience data.
- Outreach emails to sole-trader creators are marketing emails to individuals, so consent rules apply.
- Check tax status before you sign, because HMRC's off-payroll rules can apply to creators who work through a company.
For a full map of the duties, read the rules and compliance guide.
Which labelling rules apply to gifted and paid posts?
If a creator has been incentivised, the content must be clearly identifiable as an ad. The CMA guidance for content creators covers being paid to post, receiving a gift and posting about your own business.
Any form of incentive or reward is payment, including money, commissions, discounts and gifts of any products. Read the page on free products before you brief, because a gift can count as an incentive.
All commercial content must be correctly labelled and clearly identifiable as an ad. Labels must be clear, prominent and easy to understand. Hidden ads are illegal and harmful, because they can persuade people to buy things they might not otherwise buy.
Section 226 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 covers the provision of false or misleading information relating to a product or a trader, which is the kind of impression an undisclosed gift can create.
Non-compliant content creators can be named and shamed by the ASA for not abiding by advertising rules. Put the label wording, its position and the creator's duty to use it in the brief itself.
What data duties apply to creator campaigns?
Creators often share audience data with brands: engagement screenshots, follower lists or analytics exports. Where that data identifies a person, it is personal data and the UK GDPR applies. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the regulator for that regime.
You must determine your lawful basis before you start using personal information, and document it. The seven bases in article 6 are consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task, recognised legitimate interest and legitimate interests. Ask for aggregate figures where possible, so the brief never needs a named individual's data in the first place.
Keep a simple record of what you hold, where it sits and who can reach it. Delete screenshots when the campaign ends unless a documented purpose says otherwise.
Does PECR cover outreach to creators?
Yes, where the creator is an individual. Sole traders and other types of partnerships are treated the same as individuals under PECR, and many micro influencers trade this way.
Regulation 22 of PECR bars unsolicited direct marketing by email unless the recipient has previously notified the sender that they consent. Record the consent route for each individual contact, and check your outreach email wording against that rule.
Does IR35 apply to micro influencer engagements?
It can. The off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, make sure a worker pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance as an employee would.
They apply if the worker provides services to a client through their own intermediary
and would have been an employee if providing those services directly.
Risk is higher when a creator works set hours, uses your equipment or is managed like staff. A short, project-based brief with clear deliverables sits at the lower-risk end. The Check Employment Status for Tax online service gives a view of the intermediaries legislation.
What goes in the brief
The table turns each rule into a line of the brief.
| Brief element | What to write | Rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | The label, its position and who checks it | CMA guidance: commercial content clearly identifiable as an ad |
| Payment and gifts | Every incentive listed, including free products | Any incentive or reward counts as payment |
| Audience data | Aggregate metrics, secure transfer, deletion date | UK GDPR lawful basis determined and documented |
| Outreach | Consent route for each individual contact | PECR regulation 22 |
| Tax status | Status check before contract, project-based deliverables | HMRC off-payroll working rules |
| Contract | Written brief with deliverables and fee | Evidence if a regulator asks |
Put the deliverable, the fee, the disclosure line and the data terms on one page, as the guide on how to brief micro influencers shows. Anything open to interpretation belongs in that document before the first post goes live. See commercial contracts for the wider terms and the risk scenarios for rehearsal. Individual cases need a qualified adviser.
Common questions
Do micro influencers have to label gifted items?
Yes. Where a brand sends an item free, the content must be clearly identifiable as an ad. Gifts of any products count as payment.
Can I use a creator's analytics screenshots?
Only with a lawful basis and minimised data. Ask for aggregate figures where possible, and delete them when the campaign ends. Screenshots that show a named individual need the most care.
Does IR35 apply to every micro influencer?
No. It applies where a creator works through an intermediary and would have been an employee if engaged directly. Check each engagement, because a one-off campaign can still fall inside the rules.
What happens if I get disclosure wrong?
A non-compliant creator can be named by the ASA, and hidden ads can breach consumer protection law and lead to a substantial fine.
