What the 2024 UK consumer law changes mean for beauty influencers

What to take away

Why the rules changed

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 reshaped how UK consumer protection works. It received Royal Assent in 2024 and its consumer provisions are being brought into force in stages. It moved much of the unfair commercial practices regime into the CMA's direct enforcement remit. The regulator can now decide that a practice is unfair and impose a penalty without going to court first.

For beauty creator partnerships the practical effect is blunt. A missing #ad is no longer only an advertising standards problem. It can become a consumer law problem with a financial penalty attached. Brands that treat disclosure as a creative detail are exposed on two fronts at once.

The change bites hardest for brands that run always-on programmes across dozens of small accounts. One careless post can sit inside a wider pattern that the CMA treats as a single commercial practice. The same Act also tightened the rules on fake reviews and drip pricing, both of which turn up in beauty and fashion campaigns. The fake review provisions target reviews a brand writes itself or pays for, and the drip pricing rules require compulsory fees such as delivery charges to be included in the headline price rather than added at checkout.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is the primary source for the statutory detail. It is the version to quote in a contract or a dispute.

This guide explains what the changes mean in practice. It covers disclosure, data protection, advertising rules and escalation routes for England-based brands and creators, with notes where Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland differ.

Who the rules cover

The rules reach anyone who receives payment or a benefit for promoting a product to UK consumers. Cash counts. So do free products, affiliate commission, event tickets and discount codes. A one-off post is covered, and so is a year-long ambassador deal. Nano creators with a few thousand followers sit inside the same framework as accounts with millions.

In England, the CMA and the ASA share the enforcement picture, with Trading Standards acting on referrals. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own trading standards arrangements under the same underlying consumer protection framework. The practical difference is usually which body writes first, not what the rules require.

A brand does not escape responsibility by saying the creator posted without approval. If the brand knew about the post and gained from it, it is part of the partnership. Internal sign-off that skips the legal team does not change that.

That is why contracts need a compliance clause rather than a content brief alone. The supporting article on beauty creator partnerships UK regulations sets out the statutory framework in more detail. Read it before you redraft a creator contract. The rules follow the commercial relationship, not the label on the invoice.

Contracts and written briefs

A written brief is the cheapest compliance tool available. It should name the disclosure wording, the posting window, the claim bank and the data rules in one place. Vague briefs are the main reason labels go missing.

Both sides should sign it. A signed brief makes it harder for a creator to argue they did not know a label was needed. It also makes it harder for a brand to claim the creator went rogue.

Build in a right to request removal or amendment within 24 hours, plus a clause that lets the brand pause payment if a post goes live without a label. The contract should also carry a data schedule naming who is controller and who is processor.

Do not rely on a general clause about complying with all applicable laws. It sounds thorough but gives nobody a checklist. A regulator looking at your records wants to see the exact wording you asked for.

Seasonal campaigns need one more line. State that the disclosure must stay in place for the life of the post, not just the first fortnight. Some creators tidy up old captions once a partnership ends.

Gifting and affiliate models

Gifting is where many beauty brands get into trouble, because the payment is a product rather than cash. The test is control. If the brand sets a posting date, approves wording or reposts the content, the post is an ad and needs a clear label.

Pure gifting with no conditions is different. The creator keeps editorial freedom and the brand has no sign-off. Even then, a gifted label is the safer choice, particularly where the creator has a continuing relationship with the brand.

Affiliate content carries its own disclosure duty. A follower needs to know that a link earns the creator money before they click it. Hiding that fact behind a link shortener or a discount code invites a complaint.

Discount codes run by a brand count as a benefit. Where the creator receives commission on each use, the partnership sits inside the same disclosure rules as a flat fee.

Keep a record of what was sent, when, and whether any conditions came with it. That log answers the control question if a complaint lands months later.

Disclosure that works

The CAP Code requires marketing communications to be obviously identifiable as such. Rule 2.1 covers that recognisability, and rule 2.3 makes clear that a marketing communication must not pretend to be anything other than an ad. A label must be upfront, not buried behind a wall of hashtags. The word "Ad" at the start of a caption is the safest option. "Paid partnership" works when the platform's own label is switched on as well. Gifting still needs a label when the brand has control.

Control is the test, not payment. If a brand sends a product with no conditions and the creator posts freely, the position is less clear. If the brand approves the wording, asks for a repost or sets a posting date, the post is likely to be an ad.

The FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers gives a short list of what a clear label looks like. It is US guidance, but it is a useful drafting benchmark for UK briefs and for creators who post to both markets.

Put the exact wording in the brief and check the first line of the caption before it goes live. The beauty creator partnerships disclosure policy guide covers label placement, platform tools and record keeping, so use it to build a one-page standard your whole roster follows.

Advertising rules beyond labels

Disclosure is only the first layer, as beauty and fashion ads also face rules on claims, comparisons and targeting. A skincare post that promises a medical outcome can breach the CAP Code, even when labelled correctly.

A weight-loss supplement post aimed at under-18s raises separate concerns, and fashion ads should not suggest one body type is the only acceptable one. Rulings in this area often turn on one word, such as cure, treat or clinically proven.

The ASA publishes rulings that show how these rules apply to creator content. Most complaints about beauty claims come from consumers, and each published decision sets the benchmark the next campaign will be judged against.

The supporting article on beauty creator partnerships advertising rules covers claim substantiation and restricted categories. Read it before you approve a script that mentions clinical results.

The practical step is a claim bank. Give creators approved phrases for ingredients and benefits, plus a clear list of words they cannot use. That lowers the chance of a ruling and speeds up review. It also gives you evidence of a reasonable system if a complaint arrives.

Beauty claims attract more scrutiny than most categories because they touch health. A before-and-after image can imply a result the product cannot support. Treat every visual as a claim, not just the caption.

Data protection duties

Creator partnerships generate personal data at every stage. Brands collect audience insights, email lists and campaign analytics. Creators hold direct messages, subscriber data and sometimes health information from beauty quizzes. The UK GDPR applies to all of it. The ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code, also known as the Children's Code, explains how to design services for younger users and what extra care is needed.

Beauty and fashion creators often reach a large teenage audience, so this is not a niche concern. A campaign with a quiz, a filter or a giveaway needs a lawful basis and a clear privacy notice.

Platform terms do not cover your own data collection. A brand that gathers follower emails from a creator's audience owns the problem that follows.

Consent has to be specific. A tick box buried in a giveaway form is not enough for marketing emails, and bought lists are a bad idea. Give followers a plain route to withdraw consent, and honour it quickly.

A short data schedule in the creator contract is the simplest way to allocate responsibility. Check the beauty creator partnerships data protection guide before launching a lead-generation campaign, as it sets out retention periods, consent wording and processor contracts.

Decision table

The table applies the control test to the partnership models that come up most often in beauty and fashion.

If the middle column points to the brand, treat the post as an ad and label it.

Enforcement and escalation

The ASA handles most complaints about creator marketing. It publishes rulings and asks for amendments or removal. Where a brand or creator keeps breaching the rules, the ASA can refer the matter to Trading Standards. The Trading Standards referrals page explains how that route works and what it means for the business involved.

A referral can lead to legal action under consumer protection law. Since the DMCC Act 2024, the CMA also has its own enforcement tools. It can decide that a practice is unfair and impose a penalty calculated by reference to the business's global turnover, without going to court first. The CMA consumer protection guidance collection sets out how the regulator approaches businesses that mislead consumers.

For a beauty brand, the cost is wider than a penalty. Pulling a campaign, reworking creative and rebuilding trust all take time and money. A ruling also sits in search results for years.

The sensible response is a compliance log. Record each partnership, the disclosure used and the date it went live. If a complaint arrives you can show what you did. The same record helps when you renew contracts or switch agencies.

Building a compliance routine

A routine beats a one-off clean-up. Start with a standard brief that carries the disclosure line, the claim bank and the data rules. Before any new creator's first three posts go out, someone should check them. The roster needs a quarterly review, with accounts that repeatedly miss labels removed.

Train the internal team on what counts as control, because that decides whether a gifted post is an ad. Watch platform changes too, as new formats often arrive before the labelling tools catch up. The beauty creator partnerships trends and outlook piece covers how formats and audience expectations are shifting, which helps with planning.

Write down who owns compliance. A named person with authority to pause a campaign is worth more than a long policy document. Give that person the budget to run a short annual review of the roster.

This is general guidance only. A case that involves health claims, children's data or a threatened referral needs a qualified adviser.

Common questions

These are the questions that come up most often when brands brief beauty and fashion creators.

Does a gifted product need an ad label?

It depends on control. If the brand can approve the content or reposts it, the post is likely to be an ad and needs a label. Label when in doubt.

Who is liable if a creator forgets to disclose?

Both the brand and the creator can be held responsible. The brand gains from the promotion, so it cannot simply blame the creator. Contracts allocate practical responsibility, but they do not remove regulatory liability.

How long should we keep partnership records?

There is no single retention period for marketing records. Keep the contract, brief, disclosure wording and publication date for the campaign plus a reasonable review window. Align deletion with your UK GDPR schedule so you are not holding data you no longer need.

Do the FTC rules apply to UK creators?

They apply to promotions that reach US consumers, so a UK creator with a US audience can fall within them. Many brands adopt the FTC's plain-English standard globally because it is easy to apply. Check the position when a campaign targets both markets.