We’ve all seen “brand integration” videos on YouTube promoted or produced by multichannel networks such as Maker, Machnima and others.  I’ve been convinced that if these videos were on television, they would violate the “sponsorship identification” or payola rules that require disclosure of consideration paid or exchanged for placement.  (As an aside, David Lowery has raised this issue in the context of “steering agreements” by Clear Channel and Pandora.)

Even so, there’s a straight up false advertising claim that could apply in these cases and the Federal Trade Commission has now prosecuted a claim against Machinima, one of the biggest.  (Read the FTC endorsement guidelines for social media here.)  All MCNs and YouTube itself should take note.  (Good thing for YouTube that they have extraordinary political influence at the FTC, but that’s another story.)

The FTC first published the case on September 2, 2015:

A California-based online entertainment network has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it engaged in deceptive advertising by paying “influencers” to post YouTube videos endorsing Microsoft’s Xbox One system and several games. The influencers paid by Machinima, Inc., failed to adequately disclose that they were being paid for their seemingly objective opinions, the FTC charged.

Under the proposed settlement, Machinima is prohibited from similar deceptive conduct in the future, and the company is required to ensure its influencers clearly disclose when they have been compensated in exchange for their endorsements.

“When people see a product touted online, they have a right to know whether they’re looking at an authentic opinion or a paid marketing pitch,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “That’s true whether the endorsement appears in a video or any other media.”

Seems pretty simple, right?

According to the FTC’s complaint, Machinima and its influencers were part of an Xbox One marketing campaign managed by Microsoft’s advertising agency, Starcom MediaVest Group. Machinima guaranteed Starcom that the influencer videos would be viewed at least 19 million times.

In the first phase of the marketing campaign, a small group of influencers were given access to pre-release versions of the Xbox One console and video games in order to produce and upload two endorsement videos each. According to the FTC, Machinima paid two of these endorsers $15,000 and $30,000 for producing You Tube videos that garnered 250,000 and 730,000 views, respectively. In a separate phase of the marketing program, Machinima promised to pay a larger group of influencers $1 for every 1,000 video views, up to a total of $25,000. Machinima did not require any of the influencers to disclose they were being paid for their endorsement.

While it’s good that the FTC brought this case, the dollars are truly small potatoes in the world of YouTube stars with elite channels boasting over 1 million subscribers.

YouTube star Nikki Phillippi told Frontline:

“[W]hat is happening with YouTube is there is this weird line where I won’t rep a product I do not like, but, that being said, I don’t work with brands that don’t understand the value of YouTube either. I would rather not make as much and do stuff by myself, for free, with stuff I have picked up from the drugstore, than work with a company who either doesn’t understand the value of it, or does understand the value of it, but they think that we don’t, and are like here is $100, and I realize that that sounds really strange to people […] but it’s really what is going on in the industry and a matter of trying to elevate and help the entertainment industry kind of segue and understand the value of digital marketing.”

The FTC announced the consent decree today (songwriters take note–it’s not just you).

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order with Machinima, Inc., requiring the company to disclose when it has compensated “influencers” to post YouTube videos or other online product endorsements as part of “influencer campaigns.”

According to the FTC’s complaint, announced in September 2015, the California-based online entertainment network engaged in deceptive advertising by paying influencers to post YouTube videos endorsing Microsoft’s Xbox One system and several games. The influencers paid by Machinima failed to adequately disclose that they were being paid for their seemingly objective opinions, the complaint alleges.

The final order settling the complaint prohibits Machinima from misrepresenting in any influencer campaign that the endorser is an independent user of the product or service being promoted. Among other things, it also requires Machinima to ensure that all of its influencers are aware of their responsibility to make required disclosures, requires Machinima to monitor its influencers’ representations and disclosures, and prohibits Machinima from compensating influencers who make misrepresentations or fail to make the required disclosures.

On PBS’s Frontline, YouTube star Tyler Oakley says:

“If you want to get involved, then you have to play by our rules. This is our platform. We have built this up in our own capacity, in our own way without you. So if you want to come on and if you want to get involved, you can’t just come in like a bully and kind of get your way. You may have to like, play by our rules a little bit. Which is FUN!”

Actually, we all have to play by the same rules.  MCNs take note: You could be next.

As Ben Popper in The Verge summed it up:

As consumers increasingly turn to ad blockers, brands and the media companies are blurring the boundaries of advertising and independent content. Add in teenagers with little business experience and millions of passionate followers on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, and you have a recipe for unscrupulous advertising that the FTC is clearly working hard to bring under control.