Under the Influence: Regulating Influencers Giving Nutrition Advice

J Law Med. 2021 Dec;28(4):1092-1104.

Abstract

Influencers are ordinary people or celebrities who post regularly about their daily lives on social media and have a significant number of followers. They are normally provided with free products or services and are paid to post and tag photographs of the services or products on social media. Studies have found that some influencers provide advice concerning nutrition that is incorrect or could harm people if followed. The Australian Food and Beverages Advertising Code and the Australian Consumer Law are relevant regulatory mechanisms that apply to this situation. However, there are some serious gaps within this framework and it is not being sufficiently implemented. The authors argue that there is currently insufficient protection to the public from influencers providing misleading or deceptive nutrition advice and the consequences are serious to the public's health. This is the first article, to the authors' knowledge, to examine this issue in Australia.

Keywords: Facebook; advertising; influencers; nutrition advice food; social media.

MeSH terms

  • Advertising
  • Australia
  • Beverages
  • Humans
  • Social Media*