What counts as paid
Money is not the only payment. A free product, a trip, a discount, a commission or an affiliate link also makes a post an ad in India, the UK and the US.
In India, a creator who got anything of value from you must label a post about any of your products, even one you didn’t ask for.
In the UK, the label is needed through the relationship and for 12 months after it ends.
India (ASCI, 04-2025)
Accepted labels: Advertisement, Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift and Affiliate. Instagram’s Paid partnership tag and YouTube’s Includes paid promotion tag also count. The label can be in English or in the language of the post.
Placement: upfront. Not only in the bio, not only at the end, not behind more, and not lost among hashtags. Use the platform’s paid-partnership tag as well as the creator’s own label.
Video: the label must show on screen for at least 3 seconds on videos up to 15 seconds, for a third of the length on videos up to 2 minutes, and through the whole brand part on longer videos.
Live streams: at the start and the end, and in the caption afterwards. Audio: at the start, at the end and around every break.
Health and finance: a creator giving expert advice must state their qualification upfront.
Other countries work differently
Some countries need the label in their own language, as the first word. In Germany (05-2025), the label must come first and be in German, for example Werbung, Anzeige or bezahlte Werbepartnerschaft. "Ad" and "sponsored by" are not enough there.
Some countries reject words that India accepts. The UK guide (23-10-2026) recommends #Ad or #Advert, and advises against Sponsored, Collab, Gifted, PR and Affiliate.
Platform tags count differently too. In the UK, the platform’s tag may be enough on its own if it is upfront and easy to see. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission says a platform tag is not necessarily enough. In India, use it as well as the creator’s label.
In the US, a video whose message is spoken and shown needs the label both spoken and on screen.
So a post for two countries needs a label that both accept, or one label for each.
AI-made and virtual creators
In India, a virtual creator must say upfront that people are not talking to a real human (ASCI, 04-2025). India’s IT Rules also require large platforms to label AI-made audio and video, from 20-02-2026.
In France, since 08-11-2024, commercial posts need "Images retouchées" when a face or body was edited, and "Images virtuelles" when it was made by AI.
In the EU, deepfakes must be labelled from 02-08-2026.
Never drop a required ad or AI label to get more likes. Mark virtual creators with Add a mark, Virtual or AI-generated, so your team knows.
"Not sponsored" on a paid post
A creator you paid or gifted must never write "not sponsored" or "not paid". Saying a paid post is not an ad is a failure, not a safe choice. In the UK, falsely giving the impression of acting as an ordinary customer is banned.
If you see it, choose Ask creator to fix and send the message yourself.
What our check does today
The check looks for the platform’s paid-partnership tag, and for a label in the caption’s first line that every one of the campaign’s markets with a label list accepts. Today only India has a label list (ASCI, 04-2025), so India’s labels are the ones used. A person confirms on-screen labels in videos.
For a campaign aimed only at markets without a label list, a post with no other problem shows “needs review”, and a person checks its label against that country’s rules. A post whose paid-partnership tag is off can still fail today.
The check is advice. It never blocks a deal or a post. Rules change often, so your own legal team confirms the rules for each country you sell in.
Sources and dates
India: ASCI, Influencer Advertising in Digital Media (08-04-2025, with both addenda); India IT Rules amendment (in force 20-02-2026).
UK: the UK’s advertising regulators’ Influencers’ guide, 4th edition (23-10-2026); DMCC Act Part 4.
Germany: Die Medienanstalten, Leitfaden Werbekennzeichnung bei Online-Medien (05-2025).
US: Federal Trade Commission Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR 255 (2023).
France: loi 2023-451, article 5 (in force 08-11-2024). EU: AI Act article 50 (from 02-08-2026).
All as read on 31-10-2026. This page is not legal advice.