MPs wait on influencer pay review following concerns about gaps
MPs have urged the government to look into pay standards across the influencer marketplace, especially following evidence of racial pay gaps of TikTok and Instagram stars.
The digital, culture, media and sport committee argued that social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, are “not appropriately and consistently rewarding influencers for their work”. The committee also flagged that payment from brands “varies wildly”.
According to data from the SevenSix Agency, influencers with around 100,000 followers who work with brands to promote their products can earn anywhere between £250 and £30,000 per campaign.
Many influencers have taken it on themselves to bring some transparency in the industry.
An Instagram page ‘influencerpaygap’ is dedicated to sharing experiences and pay differences between social media stars.
Another post on the page highlighted the gap between influencers.
The influencer marketing industry is estimated to grow from $6bn in 2020 to $24.1bn by 2025.
The group chaired by Julian Knight has also called for better protection children, arguing that regulation has struggled to keep up.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told the inquiry that influencer compliance rates with UK advertising regulations are still unacceptably low.
While the advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that just 35 per cent of 24,000 marketing posts on the Instagram of 122 UK-based influencers were clearly labelled as adverts.
The committee is now waiting on a response from the government.