Online influencers and livestreamers found guilty of promoting products using false or misleading claims could face fines between NT$50,000 and NT$25 million (US$1,626-US$813,029) under new Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) rules announced Wednesday.
In a statement, the FTC said that under its amended guidelines, online advertisers that publicize misleading, false and fake advertisements would face punishment for violating Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act.
According to the FTC, online advertising refers to the dissemination of relevant information on goods or services by enterprises through digital media for the purpose of marketing.
Such advertisements include those posted on companies' own websites, e-commerce websites, online stores, and social networking sites, as well as email advertisements.
In addition, online influencers or streamers who promote and sell products or services online would be deemed as the sellers regardless the goods or services are their own or provided by others. If the advertising content is false, the internet celebrity will be identified as the advertiser and will be punished for violating Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act.
Even if the person promoting the product is only a marketing spokesperson and not the seller, the endorser must also bear the civil liability for joint compensation with the supplier if found to have made false or misleading claims, according to the FTC.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel