A 2023 FTC warning letter named trade groups, not just influencers

The revenue mechanism

The FTC's Endorsement Guides rest on a plain idea: if money, free product, or another thing of value moves between a marketer and whoever is endorsing its product, and a reader would not otherwise expect that connection, it must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously so the reader can judge the endorsement accordingly. On 15 November 2023, the agency's own press release stated that FTC staff had sent warning letters to two trade associations, the American Beverage Association and the Canadian Sugar Institute, and to twelve registered dietitians and health influencers, over Instagram and TikTok posts promoting aspartame's safety or sugar consumption without adequately disclosing that the influencers had apparently been hired to do so.

What the documents show

Each letter flagged problems including 'inconspicuous placement,' 'ambiguous language,' and a failure to name the sponsor. Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, called it 'irresponsible for any trade group' to hire influencers without making sure they disclosed the relationship. The release ties the action to the agency's recent revision of the Endorsement Guides, and its own Endorsement Guides FAQ, retrieved 16 September 2026, confirms those guides 'were revised in 2023,' adding a new definition of 'clearly and conspicuously.' The FAQ defines a material connection broadly, covering payment, free products, and even being 'a relative or employee of the marketer.'

The assumptions exposed

A warning letter is not a finding that the law was violated, nor a fine already imposed; each recipient was asked only to 'contact agency staff within 15 days' describing corrective action taken. The letters did cite a statutory ceiling, 'civil penalties of up to $50,120 per violation,' but that figure applies only to future, knowing violations after this notice, not to a penalty charged here; reading it as a fine already levied over-reads the release. The action also reached the trade associations that funded the campaign, not only the individual influencers, showing the disclosure duty can extend to whoever pays for a promotion, including an industry group working through many separate creators.

What to check before you rely on it

As an editorial checklist for any publisher compensating an endorser, in cash, free product, or an affiliate commission: confirm the disclosure sits in the first view of a post rather than beneath a 'more' link, name the sponsor rather than relying on a generic platform tag, and keep a record of what was disclosed and when, given the FTC's own 15-day response expectation.

• Does every paid or incentivized endorsement on my site name who paid for it, not just that it was sponsored?
• Would a reader unfamiliar with affiliate or sponsorship arrangements notice the disclosure without scrolling or clicking further?
• If asked, could I show when a specific disclosure was added to a specific post?

The letters describe a floor, clear and conspicuous disclosure of a material connection, not a ceiling on what good practice looks like.