Hey influencers and brands, the FTC may come after you if buy fake followers

• The FTC has a new rule saying creators can't buy fake followers on accounts they use to make money.
• The agency said it would crack down on false indicators of influence that could deceive consumers.
• Brands also can't pay for fake engagement without risking the FTC's ire.

It's always been a bad look for influencers to buy fake followers.

Marketers think you're phony and deceptive. Users wonder why there's a big gap between your audience size and "likes."

But now, the downsides of trying to buy influence are getting more severe.

The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, this week finalized a new rule that codifies how it plans to crack down on creators or businesses that buy fake followers, views, and other false indicators of social prominence in order to misrepresent their "influence or importance for a commercial purpose."

In simple terms, if you buy followers or views to boost engagement on your account or sponsored post, the FTC may come for you. The agency, which is tasked with protecting consumers against deceptive advertising and other practices that harm consumers, has already taken action against alleged purveyors of fake followers, subscribers, views, and likes. Its new rule gives it a sturdier framework to go after bad actors.

"This rule doesn't establish anything brand new, but it will provide a new enforcement mechanism for the Federal Trade Commission to be able to get monetary relief for violations," Katherine Armstrong, a former FTC attorney and current deputy director of the national advertising division of BBB national programs, told Business Insider.

So, what constitutes a fake follower? The FTC said it could be several different types of accounts, including a bot, a hijacked account from a real user, and an account set up to imitate a real person without their consent.

And while influencers should avoid engaging with these types of accounts, brands need to be careful, too. A company that buys fake followers or likes to make its business seem more popular could also draw the ire of the FTC, said Robert Freund, an advertising and e-commerce lawyer.

"If a brand paid to have a bunch of fake followers and then ran just an organic post on their Instagram page, for example, that kind of content is still commercial content," Freund said. "It can still be advertising even if there's not express ad spend behind it."

An exception to the rule is a social-media user who buys fake followers but doesn't use their Instagram or TikTok account to make money.

"If I just want to grow a personal brand because I like having social-media clout and it would be cool to show my friends that I have a million followers and then I go buy a million, it's not really a commercial purpose that the Federal Trade Commission's going to get involved with," Freund said.

So, if you're terminally online and just want to appear popular, go for it.