Instagram influencers who don’t clearly state if they’ve edited photos which are advertisements could be fined or imprisoned in Norway due to a new law.
The law also applies to ad posts on other social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat.
In Norway, advertisers and influencers paid by advertisers will have to clearly label Instagram posts if they’ve been retouched.
This is according to regulations passed as an amendment to Norway’s Marketing Act.
A new label designed by the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family Affairs will have to be added to advertisement posts that have altered someone’s shape, size or skin.
This would include an influencer advertising a protect but making their lips bigger, enhancing muscles or making themselves look slimmer or bigger in certain areas.
The Norwegian monarch King Harald V will decide when the law comes into effect.
Influencers and celebrities are only subjected to the advertising rule if they “receive any payment or other benefit” for a social media post.
A violation of the law could result in a fine or even a prison sentence.
The move comes as social media platforms continue to face backlash for their potentially negative impacts on mental health.
In 2017, a report by the UK’s Royal Society for Public Health said Instagram was the social media platform with the worst effect on the mental health of young people.
Instagram has been working on ways to curb the anxiety of some users on its platform and has brought in a new tool which gives the option of hiding your likes count.
The app does display a label at the top of the screen if someone has posted a story using an augmented reality filter.
It has also banned effects that directly promote cosmetic surgery procedures.
Earlier this year, influencers were told not to add misleading filters to social media adverts by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK.
The ASA ruled that filters should not be used if they exaggerate the effect of a cosmetic or skincare item being sold.
This would mean makeup influencers couldn’t use a filter that changes the shade or texture of a product they were advertising.
UK influencers, brands and celebrities will be expected to follow the new rules.
The ruling came in response to the #filterdrop campaign, which aims to make it compulsory for influencers to say whether they’re using a filter when promoting beauty products.
Makeup artist and model Sasha Pallari started the campaign in July 2020 because she wanted to see more “real skin” being shown on Instagram.
