The country’s advertising watchdog said that Instagram influencers who promote crypto investments have to tell people about the risks.
In a statement released Wednesday, local authorities told two former contestants on the U.K. reality TV show “Love Island” to stop misleading their Instagram followers with pro-crypto posts.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said Jessica and Eve Gale’s posts from earlier this year should have warned people about the risk of losing money on crypto investments.
It looks like this is the first time the ASA has taken action against social media influencers for promoting cryptocurrencies. The regulator says that social media influencers still need to follow marketing rules to the letter.
The regulator said, “We decided the ads were misleading because they didn’t include any risk warnings to let consumers know that crypto assets could go down as well as up or that crypto assets weren’t regulated in the U.K.”
In 2020, the twins were on a popular dating show where a group of single people live and fall in love in a luxury villa in Spain.
The Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. is waiting for new laws that would give it the power to treat crypto ads like other financial promotions, which would mean putting limits on how much people can hold and giving buyers warnings.
Until then, the ASA says it is a “red alert” priority to stop misleading crypto promotions.
The ASA used to run ads to warn people about influencers, like the Gale twins, who didn’t always make it clear when their posts were paid-for promotions.
When asked for a comment, the Gales’ representatives did not respond right away.