Brian O'Driscoll issued Compliance Notice over 'misleading' social media posts

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has revealed that Irish rugby star Brian O'Driscoll was among a number of influencers issued a Compliance Notice last year in relation to advertising material on his social media.

The CCPC published its annual Consumer Protection List 2024 on Tuesday which details its consumer protection enforcement activities. The list includes traders from a wide range of sectors including restaurants, supermarket chains and department stores. 

For the first time ever, the list also includes actions taken against social media influencers "who failed to disclose the commercial nature of their social media posts."

The CCPC and the Advertising Standards Authority published guidance in October 2023 on influencer advertising and marketing. In accordance with this guidance, the CCPC wrote to 26 influencers in April of last year to remind them of their obligations under consumer protection law in relation to labelling content.

According to the CCPC, Brian O'Driscoll was one of these influencers who "was found to have engaged in a misleading commercial practice following an inspection of the individual’s Instagram social media account." This specific incident related to the sports star's failure to use appropriate labels on advertising content relating to Zerofit Europe apparel.

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Essentially, the CCPC found that it was not made clear that the post in question was promotional content for the brand. O'Driscoll was served the Compliance Notice by the CCPC which took effect on 5 December 2024. 

Fitness coach Caroline O’Mahony was also issued a Compliance Notice by the CCPC for also failing to appropriately label commercial content on her social media. 

The consumer watchdog said that it has several investigations ongoing in relation to influencers and further outcomes are expected this year. 

Commenting on the inclusion of influencers in the publication, Chairperson of the CCPC, Brian McHugh said: "Influencer marketing on social media can significantly shape consumers’ opinions and purchasing behaviours so it’s important that when a consumer sees commercial content on social media, they can instantly recognise it for what it is.

"Our research shows that almost a quarter of consumers who purchased a product as a result of an influencer promoting it subsequently felt misled. We will continue to conduct regular unannounced inspections and would remind influencers that they need to follow the law or potentially face legal consequences."