Reviews and social media endorsements: what businesses and content creators must know
Being honest and transparent with online reviews and endorsements, including on social media and in other online content.
Reviews and social media endorsements play an important role in helping potential customers decide whether to buy a product or use a business. To comply with the law, you must make sure that reviews and online content are genuine and accurate, and endorsements are made clear.
“Product” covers goods, services and digital content.
The law on reviews and endorsements applies to you if you create, commission or publish reviews or endorsements (or facilitate these activities).
New law came into force in April 2025. The key updates you need to know are:
- There is a new ‘banned practice’ relating to fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews (reviews that hide the fact that they have been incentivised – for example, not making it clear that a review has been written in exchange for money or other benefits, like a free stay at a hotel or another ‘freebie’). Behaviour which falls under a banned practice is automatically unfair and illegal. For more information and guidance, see the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) guidance on fake reviews
- The CMA can issue fines and directions directly to those who break consumer protection law. Find out more about our powers to protect consumers under consumer protection law and what to expect from our enforcement processes
Our guides explain what you should do to make sure you comply with consumer protection law, whether you’re:
- a content creator or influencer
- a brand or a media agency advising a brand
- publishing reviews, information derived from reviews (for example, ratings, review counts or rankings) or endorsements online (including, but not limited to, review sites and social media platforms)
You might be doing more than one of these roles. For example:
- if you are a content creator that also owns a brand, you should review both the guides for content creators and for brands
- if you are a brand that also publishes ratings of products on your website, you should review both the guides for brands and the new guidance for businesses publishing consumer review
Guidance for businesses and brands
Guidance for influencers and content creators
Guidance for businesses publishing reviews
Guidance for social media platforms
Fake reviews guidance
All businesses active in this space should also review the new fake reviews guidance.
More information and guidance
- Business Companion by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), in particular their ‘Reviews and endorsements’ in-depth guide
- The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP’s) advice and resources, in particular the joint Influencers Guide
Updates to this page
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Guidance updated following DMCC Act 2024.
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First published.