Influencer Advertising Rules in Sweden: How to Label Sponsored Content Correctly

In Sweden, influencer collaborations are covered by the Marketing Act (marknadsföringslagen): hidden advertising is prohibited, and anyone who sees a sponsored post must understand that it is advertising at first glance. In practice, that means a clear label such as “reklam” or “annons” at the very start of the post, visible without clicking or scrolling. The company that hires the influencer has the main responsibility, but influencers and agencies can also be held responsible. Serious violations can cost up to four percent of annual turnover.

Ad labelling is one of the most common problems in influencer marketing – and it is under closer scrutiny than ever. Here is what brands need to know, based on guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) and the industry’s own recommendations. This article is a practical overview, not legal advice.

What does Swedish law say about influencer advertising?

The Marketing Act applies to all marketing, including posts in social media where an influencer mentions or shows a product or service in exchange for payment or other benefits. Konsumentverket is clear: hidden marketing is prohibited. The recipient must understand that a post is paid advertising even at a fleeting glance, and the standard is particularly strict in social media, where advertising is mixed with personal content.

The law also prohibits misleading claims about products, and there is extra protection for children and other vulnerable groups. Certain products – such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling – have their own, stricter rules on top of the Marketing Act.

When must an influencer post be labelled as advertising?

A post needs to be labelled when there is a commercial relationship between the brand and the influencer. That includes:

• Payment in money for a post, story, video or live broadcast.

• Free products, gifts, trips, discounts or gift cards – Konsumentverket treats these as compensation too.

• Ambassador agreements and other long-term collaborations, including posts the influencer makes on their own initiative during the agreement.

• Affiliate links and discount codes where the influencer earns money on sales.

A good rule of thumb: if the brand has given the influencer something of value, or if the influencer benefits commercially from the post, it should be labelled.

How should sponsored content be labelled?

Konsumentverket’s guidance and the Swedish industry recommendation on ad labelling in social media – issued by Komm, Sveriges Annonsörer and IAB Sverige – point in the same direction. The label should be:

• Clear: use words like “reklam” or “annons”. Vague terms or hashtags that only insiders understand are not enough.

• Immediate: visible at the start of the post, video or story – not hidden at the end of a long caption or among other hashtags.

• Visible: think about placement, size and colour contrast so the label stands out on a small screen.

• Specific about the sender: it should be clear which brand is behind the advertising.

• Repeated where needed: in a video or a series of stories, the viewer should not miss the label just because they joined halfway through.

Platforms’ built-in tools for marking paid partnerships can help, but they do not remove the responsibility to make the advertising obvious. The question to ask is always: would a normal viewer understand immediately that this is advertising?

Who is responsible – the brand, the influencer or the agency?

According to Konsumentverket, the company that hires an influencer has the main responsibility for the marketing – even for content the influencer creates on their own initiative without specific instructions. Influencers, intermediaries and agencies can be held jointly responsible. That is why the brief, the contract and the review process should all include clear instructions on labelling.

At Collabri, labelling is part of every campaign brief and every review before publication. It protects the brand, the talent and the audience – and it is simply part of doing influencer marketing professionally.

What happens if you break the rules?

For serious violations, companies – including advertisers and intermediaries – can be ordered to pay a market disruption fee (marknadsstörningsavgift) of up to four percent of annual turnover. Konsumentverket can also issue injunctions, and the reputational damage of being singled out for hidden advertising can be just as costly.

Is supervision getting stricter?

Yes. In June 2025 the government gave Konsumentverket a specific assignment to report on and strengthen its information and supervisory work on marketing by influencers, with special focus on children and young people. In its latest report, the agency concluded that influencer marketing as a business method is still highly problematic, despite years of supervision and information: the law is only partly followed, hidden marketing remains a problem and knowledge of the rules is often low among industry players. Some improvement was seen in particularly poor ad labelling, and the agency says marketing aimed at children and young people should be given a prominent place in continued supervision.

The report also highlighted marketing of products that are harmful to health – alcohol, tobacco and gambling – and of products unsuitable for minors, such as certain aesthetic treatments and cosmetics. Konsumentverket says influencer marketing will continue to be a priority area for supervision. Mediemyndigheten’s report on influencers in the Swedish media market likewise points to recurring problems with ad identification, which is particularly serious because children and young people make up a large part of the audience.

What about AI-generated content?

The transparency rules in Article 50 of the EU AI Act now apply. They require deepfakes and certain AI-generated or AI-manipulated content to be clearly disclosed, with the last deferred technical marking requirements applying from 2 February 2027. For influencer marketing, this means that if a campaign uses AI to create or alter a person’s image or voice, it needs to be transparent about it – in addition to the normal ad labelling.

What are the most common labelling mistakes?

Most problems are not about bad intentions but about details that make the label easy to miss. These are the mistakes we see most often in the market:

• The label is placed at the end of the caption, after the “read more” cut, so most viewers never see it.

• Only an English hashtag or an abbreviation is used, which not everyone in a Swedish audience understands.

• The first story in a series is labelled, but the following ones are not.

• A video mentions the brand for several minutes before it becomes clear that it is a paid collaboration.

• Gifted products are posted without any label because “nobody paid for the post”.

All of these are easy to avoid with a clear brief and a review step before publication.

Checklist for brands

• Include labelling instructions in every brief and contract.

• Use “reklam” or “annons” at the very start of every sponsored post, story and video.

• Treat gifted products and discount codes as commercial relationships.

• Review content before publication – and check that the label is visible on mobile.

• Take extra care when the audience includes children and young people.

• Be open about AI-generated or AI-edited content.

• Keep documentation of agreements and approvals.

Key takeaways

• Hidden advertising is prohibited under the Swedish Marketing Act.

• Labels must be clear, immediate and visible, using words like “reklam” or “annons”.

• The brand has the main responsibility, but influencers and agencies can share it.

• Serious violations can lead to a fee of up to four percent of annual turnover.

• Konsumentverket has stepped up its focus on influencer marketing.

Frequently asked questions

Is the hashtag #ad enough in Sweden?

Not on its own if it is hard to see or understand. The label should be clear to a Swedish audience – such as “reklam” or “annons” – and visible right at the start of the post.

Does a gifted product need to be labelled?

Yes. Konsumentverket treats free products and other benefits as compensation. If an influencer posts about a product they received from a brand, the post should be labelled as advertising.

Who pays the fine if a post is not labelled?

The company behind the marketing has the main responsibility and risks a market disruption fee. Influencers and agencies can also be held responsible.

Do the rules apply to long-term ambassadors?

Yes. Collaborations within an ambassador agreement must also be labelled – including posts the ambassador makes on their own initiative during the agreement.

Want to run influencer campaigns that are both effective and compliant? Collabri handles labelling, contracts and review as part of every campaign. Contact us at info@collabri.se.

Sources

• Konsumentverket – Influencers reklaminlägg – regler för företag: https://www.konsumentverket.se/marknadsratt-foretag/influencers-reklaminlagg-regler-for-foretag/

• Konsumentverket – Fortsatt stora brister i marknadsföring som sker genom influencers (2026): https://www.konsumentverket.se/nyhet/fortsatt-stora-brister-i-marknadsforing-som-sker-genom-influencers/

• Konsumentverket – Rapport 2026:3 Marknadsföring via influencers (2026): https://publikationer.konsumentverket.se/produkter-och-tjanster/reklam-och-marknadsforing/rapport-20263-marknadsforing-via-influencers

• Regeringen – Uppdrag till Konsumentverket att redovisa och förstärka sitt arbete när det gäller marknadsföring via influencers (2025): https://www.regeringen.se/regeringsuppdrag/2025/06/uppdrag-till-konsumentverket-att-redovisa-och-forstarka-sitt-arbete-nar-det-galler-marknadsforing-via-influencers/

• IAB Sverige – Annonsmärkning: https://iabsverige.se/arbetsomraden/influencer-marketing/annonsmarkning/

• Mediemyndigheten – Influencers på den svenska mediemarknaden (2026): https://mediemyndigheten.se/rapporter-och-analyser/influencers-pa-den-svenska-mediemarknaden/

• Paul, Weiss – EU Finalises Transparency Rules for AI-Generated Content (2026): https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/eu-finalises-transparency-rules-for-ai-generated-content

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.