Näringsidkare ger profil 2 miljoner i dricks - Om smygreklam på sociala medier

Sammanfattning: Today more and more businesses are using the internet and social media to reach out with their messages. Through these media, they have found new opportunities to disseminate information. Given that information on social media sites often is perceived as personal and credible advice, consumers may easily mistake marketing for information. Traders have recognized the advantage of confusing marketing for information or advice. So-called hidden marketing has increased significantly on social media in recent years. A user of social media is usually a person who conveys non-commercial messages. But famous social media users with a high number of followers can often make a lot of money writing commercial messages every now and then. Therefore, it is often particularly difficult to determine what can be considered a commercial message on social media. When there is an explicit agreement between a social media user and a trader to produce content, it is clear that the message is within the scope of the Swedish Marketing Act. However, traders have made it common practice to send out free products to famous social media users in the hope that they will get a positive message on social media sites in return. This paper targets the issue of how the Swedish Marketing Act can be applied on such conduct. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of the Swedish Marketing Act on commercial messages posted on social media. The Swedish Marketing Act is applied to all forms of marketing, regardless of medium. It is complemented by special legislation and industry self-regulation. The most basic requirement for all marketing is the principle that all advertisements have to be identified as marketing. The purpose of this paper is therefore to analyze what is needed to meet those requirements for posts on social media. The paper also examines marketing aimed at children on social media. Children are one of the biggest target audiences using social media and they are more vulnerable to hidden advertising because of their lack of experience and critical thinking. The paper also contains a chapter discussing the Swedish marketing laws in light of lex ferende, what the law should be. Since 2014, the internet is a bigger marketing platform than television in terms of revenue. Therefore, I find that the more restrictive rules for marketing on television than on any other medium – internet included - might be outdated and ineffective. To discuss this, the paper highlights the differences between Swedish Marketing Act and the Swedish Radio and Television Act. Without claim of completeness, the paper discusses the issue of whether advertising on the internet and social media should be subject to more restrictive special regulation similar to that for the TV medium.