#Ad Rules for Irish Influencers: The 2026 Disclosure Guide

Yes. In Ireland, labelling paid or commercial content is a legal obligation, not just good manners. You must clearly disclose any benefit you receive: cash, commission, affiliate income, discounts, free or loaned products, trips, event invites or equity. The simplest rule comes straight from the regulators: “If in doubt, label it.” Use a clear primary label: #Ad (Irish: #Fógra), a platform “Paid partnership” tag, or #Gifted (#Féirín) for genuinely unsolicited gifts, placed as the first word, visible before the “see more” cut-off. This is enforced by the ASA (the Advertising Standards Authority, formerly ASAI) under its Code, and by the CCPC under consumer law. Get it wrong and the consequences are real: in 2026 both regulators are naming individuals.

Terminology note: “ASAI” rebranded to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland) in March 2024, and its site is now adstandards.ie. Older rulings still say “ASAI.” This guide uses “ASA” for the current body.

Do Irish influencers legally have to label ads?

Yes. Two regimes apply at once:

1. Consumer-protection law (enforced by the CCPC). The Consumer Protection Act 2007 bans misleading and unfair commercial practices. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 transposed the EU Omnibus Directive, which amended the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). Failing to identify the commercial intent of a post can be a misleading commercial practice.
2. Advertising self-regulation (the ASA Code). Marketing communications must be “clearly recognisable as such.”

The CCPC puts it plainly: influencers “must make it clear if their posts are of a commercial nature, or they could be breaching the law.” (CCPC/ASAI joint guidance, October 2023.)

When does a post need a label? (What counts as “commercial”)

A label is required whenever you receive any benefit connected to the content. The CCPC’s non-exhaustive list includes:

• direct payment, fees or a share of sales
• commission from affiliate links
• discounts, company equity, or promises of future work
• products or services gifted or lent to you
• trips, event invitations or experiences

It also covers reposting brand content, sponsored competitions and promoting your own brand. Under the UCPD rules applied in Ireland since 2022, any form of consideration creates commercial intent that must be disclosed, clearly, and not buried in hashtags or behind a “read more.”

#Ad vs #Gifted vs affiliate vs own-brand: how to label each

The ASA/CCPC guidance splits labels into primary (at least one is mandatory) and secondary (only valid in addition to a primary label).

Content type	What it is	How to disclose
Paid / sponsored	Cash, fee or commission to post	#Ad (#Fógra) or a platform “Paid partnership” tag. Secondary: #Sponsored, #Collaboration
Gifted	Free or loaned product, trip or event	#Gifted (#Féirín) only if unsolicited with no brand input; otherwise #Ad. Secondary: #PRinvite, #PRstay
Affiliate links	You earn commission on sales	#Ad so it’s instantly recognisable. Secondary: #Affiliate. A platform tag alone may not be enough
Own brand	Your own product or one you hold equity in	#Ad – own brand. A bio note or bare #OwnBrand is not enough

The key gifted distinction is control: a genuinely unsolicited PR parcel you choose to feature can be #Gifted; the moment the brand requests, scripts or pre-agrees the post, it becomes #Ad.

Where and how must the label appear?

The placement rules are specific:

• The label is the first word of the caption.
• It must be visible without tapping “see more”, never at the end.
• Use contrasting colour and a legible size; don’t let it be hidden behind a profile picture or overlay.
• For video, add a visual advertising label at the start.
• Label every post individually, including reposts and each frame or slide of expiring Stories.
• Bio-only disclosure is not enough.

What is the CCPC’s role, and how does EU law ban hidden ads?

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is Ireland’s statutory consumer-protection enforcer. Under the UCPD, surreptitious advertising, paid content dressed up as independent opinion, is banned, and “editorial content” is read broadly to include influencer posts. CCPC research published in December 2022 found 48.4% of commercial influencer content carried no advertising label at all, which is why it co-published binding-style guidance with the ASA. Liability runs both ways: brands and traders are on the hook too, not just creators.

What happens if you don’t disclose?

• Through the ASA: a complaint can be upheld and published, naming the influencer and the brand, the main reputational sanction.
• Through the CCPC: compliance notices, fixed-payment notices, prohibition orders and prosecution. Fines under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 reach €2 million or 4% of turnover for serious breaches (a legal ceiling, not the typical first-instance outcome).

Real Irish rulings (dated)

Ireland now has a growing body of named decisions, useful to learn from:

• Niamh de Brún (May 2026): complaints upheld. She used a spaced “#A D” instead of “#Ad”; the ASA found it obscured transparency and was misleading, particularly for people with dyslexia.
• Conor McGregor & Suzanne Jackson (February 2026): issued CCPC compliance notices for failing to disclose the commercial nature of Instagram content.
• Donal Skehan (August 2025): issued a CCPC compliance notice over an unlabelled paid Instagram post.
• Rosie Connolly & Rimmel (June 2018): the first influencer complaint ever upheld by the ASAI: a filtered image of a foundation was found misleading.

The net is tightening: the ASA is using AI tools to proactively scan posts (announced 2024), and the CCPC and ASA signed a data-sharing agreement in August 2025.

How to disclose correctly: a 2026 checklist

1. Did I get anything for this? Cash, commission, affiliate link, free/loaned product, trip, discount, equity or future work? If yes → it needs a label. If unsure → label it anyway.
2. Pick a primary label: #Ad / #Fógra, a “Paid partnership” tag, or #Gifted / #Féirín (unsolicited gifts only).
3. Put it first: visible before “see more,” in clear contrasting text.
4. For video and Stories: add a visual label at the start, and label every clip or slide.
5. Affiliate links: add #Ad (don’t rely on a platform tag alone).
6. Own brand: use “#Ad – own brand,” not a bio note.
7. Don’t obscure it: no spaced hashtags, no end-of-caption burying.
8. Stay honest about the product too: disclosure fixes “is it an ad,” but filters, exaggerated results or false claims breach the Code separately.

Disclosure is cheap, and it protects you. When you’re unsure whether something counts, the regulators’ own advice is the safest policy: label it.