Over the past few months, two firms have filed a series of class action lawsuits against a number of companies – including Celsius, Shein, and Revolve – over their influencer campaigns. Leveraging the same template, the firms have filled in the blanks to file at least two more lawsuits, these against Alo Yoga and Beach Bunny Swimwear.
The facts and allegations in each of the cases is essentially the same. The plaintiffs allege that they purchased products based on social media influencer posts, that they didn't realize that the influencers were paid to promote the products, and that they wouldn't have purchased the products at those prices had they known the influencers had been paid.
Like the previous complaints, the new complaints allege that the companies have violated the FTC Act and various state laws by promoting products through undisclosed sponsored posts. (It also names individual influencers.) The plaintiffs seek "to recover the difference between the price paid and the market value of the products as purchased."
Companies that use influencers should be concerned about similar suits. Fortunately, unlike other areas where we've seen a flood of copy-and-paste lawsuits, lawsuits over influencer campaigns can be easy to avoid with proper planning. We'll discuss these lawsuits, tips for avoiding them, and more in our webinar later this week.
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