Filenews 22 February 2026 - by Angelos Angelodimou
In the terminology, an influencer is a person with a significant presence on social media, who has the ability to influence the opinions, trends, and buying habits of a particular audience. If this person collaborates with companies or organizations for the promotion of products (influencer marketing), and even for a fee, then he should automatically be considered a profession.
Market Billions
According to the latest data, the global influencer marketing market is expected to experience impressive growth in 2025, with most estimates converging that it will exceed $30 billion (USD), marking a significant increase from the approximately $24 billion dollars in 2024. It is no coincidence that online marketing with Influencers tends to become the dominant method of advertising for many businesses. Although they started as a temporary fashion of the times, influencers have managed in a very short time to become a dominant part of the advertising pie, as they have managed to be able to shape our consumption habits to a large extent.
In the past, the role of influencers was played by celebrities (mainly artists and athletes) who participated in product advertisements. But today's influencers have a big advantage. They may not be famous, they may not have millions of fans, but they have the ability to make daily contact and interact with their audience. They respond to followers' messages, maintaining a relationship that is intimate, two-way, and commercially completely profitable.
And this is where things get complicated. Because the line between the professional promotion of products (advertising) and the recommendation, proposal or encouragement to buy them becomes blurred. In an era where consumers make decisions based on online content, it is crucial to ensure that information is transparent and not misleading. Therefore, it should be clear to the consumer and follower that the video they see from each influencer is an advertisement for a product, for which he has been paid.
Checks on accounts
A few days ago, the Consumer Protection Service and the Advertising Control Body in a relevant briefing, pointed out that influencers are now at the center of the control mechanisms in Cyprus regarding the disclosure of the commercial and advertising nature of their posts. Both bodies stressed that, in a digital environment where advertising is integrated into social media content, the need for a clear distinction between personal opinion and marketing becomes more imperative than ever. Influencers, when promoting products or services for remuneration or other benefits, are considered traders under European law and are required to clearly state the advertising nature of their posts. Failure to disclose clearly or present commercial content as a spontaneous personal experience may constitute a misleading commercial practice. After all, consumer protection in the digital economy is a key priority of the European Commission, as reflected in the new 2025-2030 Consumer Agenda. In this context, national authorities are strengthening their oversight in the field of influencer marketing.
When is it an advertisement?
Speaking to "F", the Director of the Consumer Protection Service, Konstantinos Karagiorgis, clarified that when influencers promote products or services in the context of partnerships from which they derive financial or other benefit, they are considered traders in accordance with European and national consumer law. They are therefore required to comply with unfair commercial practices laws. In particular, it clarified that a post is considered an advertisement when there is any form of consideration — monetary remuneration, free products, services, discounts, travel or other benefits — and the content is intended to promote a business or product.
In these cases, the commercial intent must be stated in a clear, distinct and immediately perceptible manner. How does this translate? The consumer must understand immediately and without a doubt that what he sees is advertising. The relevant indication may not be hidden, vague or placed in a way that makes it difficult to understand. Transparency is a key requirement for an informed trading decision. For their part, consumers should be especially careful when watching promotional content on social media and check if there is a clear indication of advertising. In case of misleading practices, they can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Service.
Letters and fines
Since the beginning of 2025, the Consumer Protection Service (CPS), in collaboration with the Advertising Control Body (FED), have carried out targeted checks on influencers' accounts on social media platforms. As Mr. Karagiorgis mentioned, the investigations focused mainly on the transparency of the commercial nature of the posts and the avoidance of misleading practices. Cases were found where commercial cooperation was not clearly communicated. In this context, warning letters were issued and in one case an administrative fine was imposed.
More specifically, the main action of the two bodies that took place in 2025 was monitoring, which covered almost 4000 posts for over 30 Influencers. The Consumer Protection Service carried out a first round of investigations into accounts with high visibility and then fourteen warning letters were forwarded and an administrative decision was issued imposing a fine. In a second round of audits, with a focus on accounts with a significant impact on young people aged 18-25, six warning letters were forwarded. At the same time, new research is already underway and information and supervision actions will continue in 2026. Our goal, said Mr. Karagiorgis, is to consolidate a culture of transparency, the effective implementation of legislation and the strengthening of trust in the digital market.
The actions of the Advertising Control Body
For its part, the Advertising Control Body carried out a broad information campaign to advertising and advertised businesses and influencers. In addition, in the period October-November 2025, an advertising campaign was implemented with the aim of informing the public about the need to disclose the commercial nature of posts by influencers.
The President of the Agency, Sotiroulla Sotiriou, stated that the FED collaborates with an international platform that records influencers on a variety of social media, thus ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the data. As he mentioned during 2025: (a) We sent informative emails to more than 30 influencers, ensuring that they were fully aware of their obligations. (b) The advertising companies that are members of the Cyprus Advertising & Communication Association, as well as the advertised companies that are members of the Cyprus Advertisers Association, were informed about the Influencer Marketing Guide, the correct use of hashtags to disclose the commercial character of the posts and the fact that the creation of collab posts does not constitute a prior disclosure of the commercial character. (c) We also sent informative emails to businesses that do not belong to the two associations, when we found that they were not sufficiently informed about the need for notification by the cooperating influencers.
The results of the monitoring
From February 1 to 25, 2025, the first wave of influencer monitoring took place during which more than 100 Instagram posts from 23 influencers and more than 200 TikTok posts from 12 influencers were examined. Six additional waves followed, resulting in a total of 3,631 posts from 32 influencers to be reviewed from March 17 to November 16, 2025. Finally, seven detailed reports were delivered to the Consumer Protection Service with observations and suggestions of the Management Body for further actions.
