A paid post has rules. They reach the brand and the agency too.
When a creator is paid for a post, in money, free products or trips, the creator, the brand and the agency each have duties under the rules. The decisions further down show what getting it wrong has cost: fines, rulings and orders to stop. Here is who the rules reach in France, the UK and the Netherlands, the 16 checks of a campaign, and a two minute self-check.
Campaign Check
For brands and agencies working with creators: 16 checks before you sign, the label that marks each post as an advert checked while the campaign runs, and a dated proof file. Up to 3 creators in one market.
Sixteen checks for one campaign
Ten checks on the deal before anyone signs, and six that the law adds. Choose a market to see the rule behind each one.
Before signing
Existing sponsors and image rights confirmed
Each creator's existing sponsors, and any club, federation or agency rights over their image, confirmed in writing before you sign.
In France
A club can hold a contract on the commercial use of its own professional athletes' image, name or voice, with terms set by law (Code du sport, version in force since 5 Aug 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026).
No clash with a creator's other brands
No clash between your brand and a creator's other partners selling the same kind of product, during the campaign and in any exclusive period after it.
In France
Left to the contract. We found no written rule for it in France.
No clash in your countries
Each creator's other deals leave them free to promote you in the countries you plan to run in.
In France
Left to the contract. We found no written rule for it in France.
Creator registered as a business before payment
Each creator's business registration and tax details confirmed before the first payment.
In France
Paid promotion is a business activity: the creator registers the business and declares the income, the French economy ministry's guide says (Ministère de l'Économie, Jun 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Insurance checked
What insurance each creator holds and whether it covers this work, including cover for faulty products if they sell their own.
In France
Creators based outside the EU, the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland who target France must hold insurance for harm they cause to others, with an insurer in the EU, and name a representative in the EU (Ordonnance n° 2024-978 du 6 novembre 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026).
A conduct clause in the contract
What happens if a creator's conduct harms the brand, or the brand's conduct harms the creator.
In France
Left to the contract. We found no written rule for it in France.
How the deal can end, in writing
How either side can end the deal, with what notice, and what happens to posts already live.
In France
Left to the contract. We found no written rule for it in France.
Content approval agreed in writing
Who approves each post before it goes out, by when, and who checks its label.
In France
The brand must be clearly identified in the post as well, the ministry's guide says (Ministère de l'Économie, Jun 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Who owns the content, and for how long
Who owns the content, where the brand may use it, and for how long.
In France
The written contract states each side's rights and duties, including who owns the content (intellectual property) (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026).
When and how each creator is paid, in writing
When each creator is paid, in which currency, and the value of any products or trips given.
In France
The written contract states the pay, or the products and other benefits given instead of money (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026).
What the law adds
The right label on every post
Each post carries the label its market requires before it goes out (the words that tell followers it is an advert, such as #ad), and every post is checked while the campaign runs.
In France
"Publicité" (advert) or "Collaboration commerciale" (commercial partnership), or an equivalent suited to the format, unless the context already makes it clear. Images retouched to change a face or body say "Images retouchées" (retouched images); images of a face or body made with AI say "Images virtuelles" (virtual images) (Ordonnance n° 2024-978 du 6 novembre 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026).
A written contract
A signed contract with each creator, covering the missions, the pay, the rights and the duty to label.
In France
Compulsory from €1,000 excluding tax a year for the same promotional aim, money and gifts together, since 1 January 2026 (Décret n° 2025-1137 du 28 novembre 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026); without it in writing, the contract can be declared void (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Restricted products checked
Gambling, alcohol, supplements and health claims, cosmetic procedures, nicotine and financial products each carry their own rules, market by market.
In France
Creators may not promote cosmetic surgery or risky aesthetic procedures, nicotine products, products presented as a substitute for medical treatment, or paid betting tips; gambling only on platforms that can keep out under-18s, with that setting switched on. These bans do not apply to creators based in another country of the European Economic Area, except through a set procedure (Ordonnance n° 2024-978 du 6 novembre 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Under-18s protected
The share of each creator's audience under 18, and the rules for any creator who is a child.
In France
France's gambling regulator recommends not using any ambassador with 16% or more of their audience aged 13 to 17 (ANJ, 17 Feb 2022, checked 8 Nov 2026). When a child under 16 is the main subject of paid content, earnings above set amounts are kept for them until they come of age (Loi n° 2020-1266 du 19 octobre 2020 (image des enfants de moins de seize ans en ligne), checked 8 Nov 2026).
How the creator handles personal data
Giveaways, email lists, private messages and forms linked from a profile: wherever names, emails or other personal data are collected, people give their consent and get a privacy notice, a short text on how their data is used.
A proof file
A dated record of the checks, labels, contracts, gifts and payments, kept for the brand.
In France
France's consumer protection authority (DGCCRF) says its investigations can extend to the brands that advertise, which can also be held liable (DGCCRF, 3 Apr 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026).
One campaign, two minutes
Answer for one campaign, as the brand or the agency. "Not sure" counts as open until someone checks. Your answers stay on this page: nothing is stored or sent.
Has every creator confirmed in writing their current sponsors and any club, federation or agency rights over their image?
Have you checked your brand and your markets against each creator's other deals?
Do you hold each creator's business registration and tax details?
Do you know what insurance each creator holds, and whether it covers this work?
Does each contract say what happens if either side's conduct harms the other, and how the deal can end?
Is it agreed in writing who approves each post, and its label, before it goes out?
Does each contract say who owns the content, where you may use it and for how long?
Are payment dates, currency and the value of any products or trips written into each deal?
Will someone check the label on every post while the campaign runs?
Is there a signed written contract with every creator?
Does the campaign involve gambling, alcohol, supplements, health or beauty claims, cosmetic procedures, nicotine or financial products?
Is any creator under 18, or followed by many people under 18?
Will any creator collect names, emails or other personal data for the campaign, through a giveaway, sign-ups, private messages or a form linked from their profile?
Will you keep a dated record of the checks, labels, contracts, gifts and payments?
of the 16 checks look open from your answers.
Answer a few questions to see which checks look open.
Campaign Check
from €690 a campaign, ex VATFor brands and agencies working with creators: 16 checks before you sign, the label that marks each post as an advert checked while the campaign runs, and a dated proof file. Up to 3 creators in one market.
Tell us the creators, the markets and the dates, and we quote a fixed price.
excluding tax a year, in money and gifts, for the same promotional aim: from that amount, a creator's contract with a brand must be in writing (since 1 January 2026).
Décret n° 2025-1137 du 28 novembre 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026of the more than 260 influencers checked by France's consumer authority in 2024 were found at fault.
DGCCRF, 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026of the 576 influencers checked across the EU in 2024 labelled their ads every time, though 97% posted paid or promotional content.
European Commission, 14 Feb 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026were registered as a business, though 78% were carrying out a business activity (same EU sweep).
European Commission, 14 Feb 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026Creator, brand and agency, market by market
France
Creators
Anyone paid to promote something online, in money or in free products, trips or gifts. Each paid post must say "Publicité" (advert) or "Collaboration commerciale" (commercial partnership), unless the context already makes it clear (Ordonnance n° 2024-978 du 6 novembre 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026). Paid promotion is a business, and the creator registers it as one (Ministère de l'Économie, Jun 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Brands
A written contract once a creator's money and gifts reach €1,000 excluding tax in a year for the same promotional aim (Décret n° 2025-1137 du 28 novembre 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026). If carrying out that contract causes harm to someone else, the brand, its representative and the creator are jointly liable: each can be made to pay for all of it (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Agencies
An influencer agent, who represents creators in their deals, must protect the interests of the creators it represents, avoid conflicts of interest and keep their activity within the law (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026). Where there is an agent, the law makes it jointly liable with the brand and the creator for harm caused to others (Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, checked 8 Nov 2026).
United Kingdom
Creators
Anyone whose post is linked to payment, free products or another reward, however many followers they have (CMA, updated 3 Sep 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026). The post must be labelled as an ad from the start, even if the brand had no control over it (ASA and CMA joint guide, Oct 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Brands
Under the UK advertising code, the advertiser (the brand) carries the main responsibility for an ad (CAP Code, checked 8 Nov 2026). The UK's competition and consumer authority (CMA) says a brand can be held responsible for posts published for it, and should watch them and act when a label is missing (CMA, updated 28 Aug 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Agencies
The CMA says the rules apply to everyone involved, marketing and talent agencies included, and that under consumer law they apply whether or not the brand controls the content (CMA, checked 8 Nov 2026). Since April 2025 the CMA can fine a business directly, in its own final decision (a final infringement notice): up to £300,000 or 10% of turnover, whichever is higher (DMCC Act 2024, in force 6 Apr 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Netherlands
Creators
Anyone paid by a brand in any form, from money and free products to discount codes, affiliate links (links that earn a commission on each sale) and trips, however few followers they have (Stichting Reclame Code, last amended 1 Jul 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026). Creators with 24 or more videos a year on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, earning through a business registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK), are also supervised by the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media, in force 16 Jun 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Brands
The Dutch advertising code makes the brand answerable for its creators: it must tell them about the code, oblige them to follow it and actively make sure they do; a clause in the contract alone is not enough (Stichting Reclame Code, last amended 1 Jul 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026). The Dutch consumer and markets authority (ACM) says the influencer and the business that hires them must both follow consumer law (ACM, May 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Agencies
We found no Dutch rule written for influencer agencies. But consumer law treats anyone acting for a business as a business itself (Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 6 (articles 187 and 193a), version in force from 16 Jul 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026), and the Dutch gambling authority wrote to marketing and influencer agencies before its ban on role models in gambling ads (Kansspelautoriteit, 16 Jun 2022, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Across the EU
The European Commission's guidance treats creators who promote products regularly as businesses under consumer law, however many followers they have. It says a breach can be put down to the brand as well, whether or not the brand controlled what was posted (European Commission, 29 Dec 2021, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Recent decisions on paid posts
Regulators and courts, with the date and the source. Where a regulator did not name the creator, neither do we.
| Market | Date | Who decided | Against | Outcome | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 3 Dec 2025 | ASA (UK advertising regulator) | Betway Ltd | Ruled against the ad (complaint upheld) | A paid ad showing Sir Lewis Hamilton, from behind; the ASA considered he had strong appeal to under-18s | ASA |
| UK | 17 Sep 2025 | ASA (UK advertising regulator) | Dribble Media Ltd, trading as Midnite | Ruled against the ad (complaint upheld) | An AI-generated parody video of Trent Alexander-Arnold on its X page still counted as depicting him | ASA |
| FR | 27 Aug 2025 | DGCCRF (French consumer authority) | france-pronos.com, a betting tips site | €80,000 fine | Misleading promises of better chances of winning | DGCCRF |
| EU | 21 Mar 2025 | The EU's national consumer authorities, acting together (CPC network) | Star Stable Entertainment AB | Joint statement of concerns; asked to commit to changes | Did not make sure its influencers labelled their ads and did not put undue pressure on children | European Commission |
| FR | 8 Nov 2024 | DGCCRF (French consumer authority) | An influencer (not named) | €150,000 paid to settle the case | Promised quick gains from NFTs (digital collectibles) and games that never existed | DGCCRF |
| NL | 12 Jul 2024 | Kansspelautoriteit (Dutch gambling authority) | JOI Gaming Limited (Jack's Racing Day) | Order to comply, with €50,000 for each day it did not, up to €250,000 | Role models in gambling ads | Kansspelautoriteit |
| NL | 18 Jun 2024 | Commissariaat voor de Media (Dutch Media Authority) | RK Content Creation | €6,075 fine | Ads in videos that viewers could not recognise as ads, after a warning | Commissariaat voor de Media |
| NL | 23 Mar 2023 | Kansspelautoriteit (Dutch gambling authority) | Red Ridge Marketing | €675,000 fine | Advertising unlicensed online casinos | Kansspelautoriteit |
| UK | 11 Aug 2016 | CMA (UK consumer authority) | Social Chain Ltd, a marketing agency | Formal promises to the CMA (not an admission of a breach) | Not to post or arrange ads that are not labelled as ads | CMA |
And the partnerships themselves.
We find athletes and creators who fit the brand, agree the deal with them and run the content, in English, French and Dutch, with the same checks built in. Athletes come through Ambassadors of Sport, for off-field brand deals only.
Not legal advice. This page sums up the official texts, regulators and decisions in our sources, as checked on 8 November 2026. Where a deal is close to the line, a lawyer in that country should confirm.