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Blurred Lines, Big Lawsuits: The Cost of Missing Disclosures

Revolve is facing a $50 million putative class action over allegedly failing to enforce disclosure rules in its influencer campaigns. The suit claims that influencers received payments and free products but failed to clearly disclose any material relationship with the brand. According to the complaint, that crosses the line into deceptive advertising under Federal Trade Commission rules—and opens the door to serious legal risk.

The case highlights a growing trend: regulators and plaintiffs are holding brands accountable for how their influencer campaigns are executed, not just what’s in the contract.

The bigger message? Brands can’t sit back. If you’re running influencer campaigns, you’re on the hook for making sure disclosures are clear, consistent, and compliant.

What in-house teams should double-check:

  • Disclosures must be obvious. If someone’s being paid, gifted, or sponsored—that relationship must be disclosed. It's not optional.
     
  • You’re liable. If your influencers skip disclosures, your brand could face the fallout.
     
  • Contracts matter. Include clear language on disclosure duties and your right to monitor.

The Bottom Line?

Influencer marketing works—but only if you treat compliance like part of the campaign, not an afterthought.

FTC-mandated disclosures should be “difficult to miss,” like the “paid partnership” label advised by Meta or the #ad hashtag, the lawsuit states. Instead, Revolve’s paid influencers often merely tagged the fashion brand‘s Instagram account in their posts, according to the complaint.

Tags

intellectual property, consumer class actions & mass arbitration, regulatory, litigation, complex litigation, consumer technologies & retail