AGCM

According to the Authority, Meta did not adopt adequate initiatives to deal with the conduct of Asia Valente, who would sponsor products, especially tourist facilities, by concealing the commercial purpose of this activity and boasting a considerable popularity based mostly on fake followers.

The Italian Competition Authority has initiated investigation proceedings against Meta-Instagram and the influencer Asia Valente. Specifically, Meta - contrary to the professional diligence of social media platforms and to its own policies on conduct - allegedly failed to adopt appropriate measures to prevent the publication of potentially misleading messages on Instagram.

Indeed, Asia Valente would publish photos and videos, on social media, of restaurants, spas, hotels and other tourist facilities with which she would had a business relationship, without using any wording highlighting the promotional nature of this content. Furthermore, the influencer would boast considerable popularity based on a substantial number of followers, around 2 million, most of whom would not seem to be authentic.

Additionally, Meta-Instagram would not provide adequate information on the existence and methods of use of the tool to mark branded content nor would it control the actual and correct use of such a tool, especially in relation to promotional content published by extremely popular users, such as influencers. Finally, the company would not carry out checks on the authenticity of interactions on its platform in order to avoid the artificial collection of “likes” and followers.

Rome, 17 November 2023