“Influencer marketing is not a way around the law”: Regulatory Compliance and Law Enforcement in the Canadian Social Media Influencer Field

In 2019, Competition Bureau Canada (“the Bureau”) sent letters to approximately 100 brands and marketing agencies that engage in influencer marketing—advising them to ensure that their marketing practices are in compliance with the law. Against this background, this research uses semi-structured interviews to examine the regulatory compliance efforts of 21 influencer intermediaries who liaise between brands and social media influencers. The research assesses these intermediaries’ disclosure practices together with their thoughts on the Bureau’s targeted outreach and law enforcement in the field. Additionally, the research explores how the intermediaries adjust their regulatory compliance efforts to technological innovation on social media platforms.

This research contributes four main findings. First, intermediaries consign regulatory expectations for disclosure to a secondary level of importance when working to meet the needs of brands and influencers. Second, there is limited intermediary knowledge of the Bureau’s legal standing and activities in the Canadian influencer field. Third, there are various algorithmic (e.g., algorithmic deprioritization) and non-algorithmic (e.g., lengthy disclosure processes) challenges to maintaining high standards of compliance in evolving digital environments. Finally, intermediaries have access to forms of social, cultural, and technical power that can be maximized to influence high standards of compliance. This research contributes to a growing body of scholarship focused on the perspectives of professionals who manage influencer marketing collaborations.