FTC disclosure

FTC disclosure refers to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s rules requiring creators to clearly and conspicuously disclose any paid or material connection with a brand when posting about its products.

The principle sits in the FTC’s Endorsement Guides: if you have a material connection to a brand, such as being paid or getting free product, your audience should be told in a way they can’t miss.

It matters for any creator with a U.S. audience or working with a brand that sells into the U.S. market, even if the creator themselves is based elsewhere. The rule is about protecting U.S. consumers from undisclosed advertising.

So a creator in Jaipur or Kochi isn’t automatically outside it. What counts is who sees the content and who is paying for it.

Read the FTC’s guidance if any of these apply to you. Your Indian audience is still covered by ASCI’s guidelines, so treat FTC disclosure as something extra to check, not a replacement.

• Your YouTube Studio or Instagram Insights show a meaningful share of viewers in the United States.
• The brand is US-based, or sells its product to customers in the US.
• A US agency or platform is running the campaign and has sent you its own disclosure rules.
• The campaign is aimed at Indian viewers living in the US.

“Clear and conspicuous” means a viewer notices the disclosure and understands it without hunting for it.

Example: a US-based fitness brand pays you ₹40,000 for a YouTube video. You show #ad on screen and start the description with #ad, rather than thanking the brand in the last line of the description.

• Use clear, unambiguous language like “#ad” rather than vague terms like “#sp” or “thanks brand” that audiences may not recognise as a disclosure.
• Disclose in the platform itself (on-screen or in the visible caption), not only in a bio link or profile description.
• Put it where people see it before they tap “more”, not after a block of hashtags.
• Repeat it on each piece of content in the deal, not once for the whole campaign.

• Who sets it: the FTC is a US government regulator; ASCI is an Indian body that published guidelines for influencer advertising in 2021.
• Whom it protects: FTC guidance is about US consumers; ASCI’s guidelines cover influencer advertising in India.
• What it asks: both expect a material connection, such as payment or free product, to be disclosed clearly where people will see it.
• Labels: ASCI names labels such as #ad, #collab, #sponsored, #partnership and #freegift; for the FTC, clear words like #ad beat vague shorthand.

• Check current FTC guidance directly if you regularly work with U.S. brands, since the specifics have been updated over time.
• Ask a US brand for its disclosure requirements in writing and add them to your contract. Sample wording: “The Creator will disclose the paid relationship in each post using #ad, at the start of the caption and on screen in video.”
• Don’t assume a brand tag or a link in your bio counts as disclosure.
• If a brand asks you to keep a paid post undisclosed, say no. Its reviews on CredFluence can show how it has treated other creators.
• This page is general information. For a specific deal or a US contract, check with a lawyer.