Affiliate Disclosure FAQ
Section I.G. of the EPN Network Agreement requires that all partners disclose their relationship with EPN regardless of partners’ location, consumers’ location, or promoted eBay programs. Disclosure is required globally and is a regulatory compliance requirement for “transparent marketing” in order to protect consumers.
Below are some general affiliate disclosure guidelines. Please be sure to refer to region specific guidelines here.
- Disclosure must make clear to “reasonable” consumers that sites, social media channels, apps, extensions are promotional content and/or advertisements, and partners are receiving compensation, i.e. commissions, payments, products.
- Disclosure must be easily identifiable and made frequently. “Disclosure Statement” only in a “Terms of Use”, “Legal”, “About Us”, “Disclaimers” or other pages linked from the location of promotional contents are not sufficient to be compliant.
- Disclosure must be “unavoidable”. The disclosure should be as close to the promotional contents, advertisements, logos and/ or links as possible. Consumers should not have to search for disclosure.
- Disclosure is required for all social media posts. If space is limited, using #ad or #sponsored is considered as sufficient. Usage of #affiliate or #affiliatemarketing is not acceptable because affiliate marketing is not clear to “reasonable” consumers. For a full list of approved and not approved hashtags please see here .
- Disclosure on video ads must be embedded in video, and should appear in text that is easily noticed, read, and understood along with audio that is easily followed and understood by “reasonable” consumers.
- Disclosure is required for all live links regardless of how old they are.
- Failure to disclose can lead to potential legal proceedings, regulatory investigations and/or fines and other legal consequences for both EPN partners and eBay if found to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by not complying with certain regional compliance requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is a disclosure in the footer sufficient? No, not if the affiliate links are at the top of the page and scrolling would need to occur to see the disclosure. Disclosure must be as close to the promotional content, advertisements, logos and/ or links as possible. Consumers should not have to search for disclosure.
- If there is a link to a disclosure page in the footer or near the affiliate link is that sufficient? No, linking to an affiliate disclosure is not sufficient. The affiliate disclosure statement itself needs to be in close proximity to the affiliate links.
- I am not located in the US so do I have to disclose my relationship with eBay? Disclosure is required globally. EPN Network Agreement requires affiliate disclosure regardless of partners’ location, consumers’ location, or promoted eBay programs. All regions have similar policies to FTC guidelines, please see specific regional guidelines below for more information.
- Is a disclosure in our Terms & Conditions sufficient? Disclosure must be easily identifiable and made frequently. “Disclosure Statement” only in a “Terms of Use”, “Legal”, “About Us”, “Disclaimers” or other pages linked from the location of promotional content are not sufficient to be compliant.
- Is my promotional method (i.e. loyalty/cashback, downloadable tool, etc.) exempt from having an affiliate disclosure? It is in your best interest to review the region specific guidelines below to ensure your affiliate disclosure is compliant based on the guidelines in your region. Each region provides detailed information for different promotional methods and you are required to ensure you meet all legal requirements for your area. If you have questions, you should consult legal counsel to ensure you are in legal compliance within your region.
- What happens if EPN audits my account and observes no affiliate disclosure or a non-compliant affiliate disclosure? In the event of non-compliance, you will receive a minimum of 3 notifications with details of the violation prior to action being taken on your account. No response to these emails is considered non-compliance. No response or non-compliance to regulatory requirements can lead to suspension and/or termination of your EPN account as outlined in Section X. of the Network Agreement .
- Can I appeal EPN’s decision to suspend or terminate my account? Yes. You may submit an appeal through one of the following methods: a) send an email to epn-operations-support@ebay.com b) submit an appeal request through the Contact Us form c) or speak to your partner manager directly for assistance.
Region Specific Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) requires anyone engaged in affiliate marketing in the U.S. to clearly and conspicuously disclose that they may receive compensation for their promotion of third-party products or services. This applies to all ePN Partners based in or conducting business from the United States and applies to any format of affiliate marketing activity, including:
● Mobile apps, websites, or blog posts with promotional content or ePN links
● Youtube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media promotion
● Podcasts, chat boards, Bulletin Board System, image dumps, apps, redirected pages
● Any media whatsoever that contains a relationship where an ePN Partner may be compensated by a third-party or merchant in exchange for their referral to the third-party sales pages
If you are an Affiliate Marketing Manager, or Influencer Network Manager, these rules apply to your entire network, so long as affiliate links are being used to generate revenue.
The FTC also requires companies who manage affiliate marketing programs, such as eBay, to regularly review ePN Partner activity to ensure they are using their best efforts to comply with FTC guidance.
Both ePN Partners and eBay face potential fines from the FTC when an ePN Partner fails to disclose their affiliate marketing relationship with eBay to individuals who view and may click on their affiliate links.
eBay recognizes that affiliate marketing links are placed in a variety of formats and ever-evolving locations, some of which are not specifically addressed by the FTC. To assist you in identifying the most appropriate disclosure format and language for your own affiliate marketing links, we have provided a summary of the FTC’s guidance below.
We encourage you to review the full guidance from the FTC found here . Information for Social Media Influencers can be found here. And should you feel it appropriate, consult with your own legal counsel.
Summary of FTC Guidance
Disclosure Must Be Clear
When using written media with a link of any kind, consider using one of the following statements (or something similar):
i. “This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated”
ii. “As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase”
In written formats that are limited by size, such as X or a small banner link, the FTC has indicated that #Ad or #Sponsored is sufficient.
When using voice or video promotion, a similar statement must be made during your video or audio presentation, whether written in bold letters (video) or said aloud for the audience (video or audio).
Disclosure Must Be Close and Easily Seen (Conspicuous)
o Disclosure must be easy for any reasonable visitor to your content to find.
o Place it in close proximity to the affiliate link:
● Directly preceding the affiliate link,
● Said aloud in a video or audio presentation at a point near where the link is posted or displayed.
● Fonts should not be unreasonably small
o In banner ads or tweets, the short form of disclosure listed above must be plainly visible as part of the link
o For links that appear in mobile applications, the disclosure needs to be “above the fold”, which means it is visible once the page loads without needing to scroll. It should not be located at the bottom of a field of text, or in small print tucked into a menu. This is not generally seen as conspicuous by the FTC.
The Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) requires anyone engaged in affiliate marketing in the UK to comply with the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (“CAP Code”) . This applies to all ePN Partners based in or conducting business from the United Kingdom and applies to any format of affiliate marketing activity, including:
● Mobile apps, websites, or blog posts with promotional content or ePN links
● Youtube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media promotion
● Podcasts, chat boards, Bulletin Board System, image dumps, apps, redirected pages
● Any media whatsoever that contains a relationship where an ePN Partner may be compensated by a third-party or merchant in exchange for their referral to the third-party sales pages
If you are an Affiliate Marketing Manager, or Influencer Network Manager, these rules apply to your entire network, so long as affiliate links are being used to generate revenue.
The ASA also requires companies who manage affiliate marketing programs, such as eBay, to regularly review ePN Partner activity to ensure they are using their best efforts to comply with ASA and CAP Code guidance.
Both ePN Partners and eBay face consequences when an ePN Partner fails to disclose their affiliate marketing relationship with eBay to individuals who view and may click on their affiliate links. This can include complaints to the ASA being published on the ASA’s website – these are posted weekly, and include details of the complaint, the advertiser’s response and the ASA’s decision
The ASA can also impose additional sanctions, such as:
● Ad alerts
● Pre-vetting
● Removing paid search advertisements from search engines
Extreme cases can result in referrals to other bodies, such as Trading Standards and/or the Competition & Markets Authority. These bodies have greater powers, such as fine imposition and criminal prosecution.
eBay recognizes that affiliate marketing links are placed in a variety of formats and ever-evolving locations. To assist you in identifying the most appropriate disclosure format and language for your own affiliate marketing links, we have provided a summary of the ASA’s guidance below.
We encourage you to review guidance provided by the ASA here and should you feel it appropriate, consult with your own legal counsel.
General guidance with content
As affiliate marketing falls under the CAP Code, all its relevant rules will apply to affiliate content. This content should not mislead consumers, or cause serious or widespread offense.
To avoid misleading consumers, ensure all your marketing is true and accurate, and do not omit material information (i.e hiding information, presenting it in an unclear way). ‘Material information’ is information that consumers need to make informed decisions on purchasing a product or service, such as price, characteristics of the product and delivery charges.
You should also ensure your marketing must not contain anything that would cause offense against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards. Care should be taken on grounds including race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and/or age.
Affiliate marketing must be obviously identifiable
Marketing communications must be identifiable as marketing. Some forms may be identifiable because of their medium, such as banner ads, and branded emails. However, in social media posts, blogs and voucher sites, it may be more difficult for consumers to identify the clear commercial relationship. In these cases, additional forms of disclosure are likely to be required to ensure the affiliate content is obviously identifiable as marketing communication.
When using written media with a link of any kind, consider using one of the following statements (or something similar):
i. “This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated”
ii. “As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase”
Social media
In social media posts, you should include an identifier that ensures the post is identifiable as advertising upfront. Wording such as ‘#ad, #advertising’ are considered sufficient. Wording such as ‘affiliate’ or ‘collab’ have been found to be insufficient. Ensure to include these words/markers at the start of a post, as opposed to at the end, or hidden in numerous hashtags.
When using voice or video promotion, where the content of this medium concerns affiliate linked products (usually in the description) and is ‘directly connected’ to the supply of these products, the commercial nature should be made clear prior to consumer engagement. This could be done in the title and or thumbnail of a video. In addition, you may choose to explain the nature of the relationship with yourself and eBay, either in the description or verbally.
Legal requirements for affiliate marketing
In affiliate marketing, the relevant legal requirements in France must be observed, which may arise in particular from the French civil code (" Code civil"), the French consumer code (" Code de la consommation") and the Digital Economy Law ("Loi pour la confiance dans l’économie numérique" or " LCEN"). As a partner of the ePN, you are required to design your content in accordance with these legal requirements. Violations of this may result in your exclusion from the "ePN affiliate program".
Legal requirements for advertising in France
Any advertising must in particular be clearly recognizable as such and clearly separated from other content. What does that mean exactly?
- Clear labeling
● Promotional contributions in online media should be clearly marked with the French terms " Publicité" (advertising) or " Collaboration commerciale" (commercial collaboration). This notice must be displayed clearly, legibly and identifiably for the duration of the advertising. The use of wordings in other languages (e.g., the English wording "ad" or "sponsored by") is in general not sufficient.
● When using hashtags to indicate the commercial purpose, the corresponding hashtag (" #Publicité", " #Collaborationcommerciale" or “ #Sponsorisé”) should be within the first three hashtags.
● The use of affiliate links also constitutes advertising in principle, which must be marked accordingly.
- Clear separation
● All advertising content and marketing communications must be clearly separated from editorial content.
● The separation must also be clearly recognizable through the external design, so the consumer can clearly and immediately understand that the message is an advert. The layout of advertising content should not be designed in the same way as editorial content.
● The more similar the advertising content is to the editorial content in terms of its design, the clearer the labeling must be (see above).
Advertising must not be misleading. In addition, subliminal advertising is prohibited in France ( article 10 of Decree No. 92-280), and spamming is regulated ( article L34-5 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code).
Other legal requirements & in particular data protection
In addition to these requirements relating to advertising and competition law, all other relevant legal requirements must of course also be observed. If personal data is collected or otherwise processed in the context of affiliate marketing, for example, the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (" GDPR") and the French Data Protection Act (" Loi Informatique et Liberté") must be observed.
Digital Services Act
It should be noted that from 17 February 2024, when the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or "DSA") becomes fully applicable, more extensive requirements and obligations will apply to affiliate marketing, which must also be complied with from then on.
Advertising in Australia is partly self-regulated by the industry via the Ad Standards, and partly regulated by both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) under the Australian Consumer Law (“ACL”), as well as the Australian Communications and Media Authority (“ACMA”) under the Spam Act.
AANA and the Code
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (“AANA”) is the peak industry body for advertisers in Australia. The AANA has published various codes for different types of advertising, including an overarching Code of Ethics (the “Code”), to ensure that advertisements and other forms of marketing communications are legal, honest, truthful and have been prepared with respect for human dignity, an obligation to avoid harm to the consumer and society, and a sense of fairness and responsibility to competitors.
The Code applies to advertising and marketing communications published or broadcast in any medium over which the advertiser has a reasonable degree of control, which promotes a product, service person or organization. The Code specifically states that advertising shall be clearly distinguished as such, and an accompanying practice note provides further guidance for influencer and affiliate marketing.
ACCC and the ACL
The ACL requires transparency in advertising and marketing practices in Australia, because it is illegal to engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive, or is likely to mislead or deceive. Misleading and deceptive conduct can relate to:
● how you advertise your goods or services;
● how you describe goods or services (including in giving a review); or
● a failure to disclose a commercial relationship
This means that anyone engaged in affiliate marketing in Australia must clearly and conspicuously disclose that they may receive compensation for their promotion of third-party products or services, and disclose if their content contains affiliate links and that they earn a commission if users purchase using those links.
ACMA and the Spam Act
Finally, ACMA regulates the Spam Act which prohibits affiliates and brands from sending marketing (including affiliate links) to customers without their specific consent to receive such marketing communications, and requires both that you clearly identify who authorized the message (as well as that a clear and simple unsubscribe button be included in every marketing communication).
The above applies to all ePN Partners based in or conducting business in Australia, or marketing to Australian consumers, and applies to any format of affiliate marketing activity, including:
● Mobile apps, websites, or blog posts with promotional content or ePN links
● Youtube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media promotion
● Podcasts, chat boards, Bulletin Board System, image dumps, apps, redirected pages
● Any media whatsoever (including email communications) that contains a relationship where an ePN Partner may be compensated by a third-party or merchant in exchange for their referral to the third-party sales pages
If you are an Affiliate Marketing Manager, or Influencer Network Manager, these rules apply to your entire network, so long as affiliate links are being used to generate revenue.
Both ePN Partners and eBay face potential complaints via the Ads Standards Board when an ePN Partner fails to disclose their affiliate marketing relationship with eBay to individuals who view and may click on their affiliate links, and could face legal proceedings, regulatory investigations and/or fines and other legal consequences if found to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct under the ACL, or conduct in breach of the Spam Act.
eBay recognizes that affiliate marketing links are placed in a variety of formats and ever-evolving locations, some of which may not be specifically addressed by the relevant legislation or guidance materials.
We encourage you to review the Code (together with the other codes published by AANA as relevant to you and the practice note ), ACCC guidance for advertising and promotions , and ACMA guidance for avoiding spam , and should you feel it appropriate, consult with your own legal counsel.
Also, while not specifically related to disclosures, the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (“AIMCO”) has also created a Code of Practice for the influencer marketing community, to protect all concerned from reputational risk and legal action by not complying with the ACL.
At a high level, we have set out below a summary of the requirements set out in the Code.
Disclosure Must Be Clear
While there is no absolute requirement that advertising or marketing communications have a label, it must be clear to the audience that it is advertising.
When using written media with a link of any kind, consider using one of the following statements (or something similar):
- “This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated”
- “As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase”
In written formats that are limited by size, such as X or a small banner link, consider using one of the following hashtags (or combination): #ad, #advert, #advertising, #brandedcontent, #paidpartnership, #paidpromotion, #sponsored, #sponsoredcontent. Less clear labels such as #sp, #spon, #affiliate, #collab, #thanksto, or merely mentioning the brand name, may not be sufficient to clearly distinguish the post as advertising.
When using voice or video promotion, a similar statement must be made during your video or audio presentation, whether written in bold letters (video) or said aloud for the audience (video or audio).
Disclosure Must Be Prominent and Proximate (i.e. Easily Seen and Close)
● Disclosure must be easy for any reasonable visitor to your content to find.
● Fonts should not be unreasonably small
● Disclosure should be close to the affiliate link, e.g.:
● Directly preceding the affiliate link; or
● Said aloud in a video or audio presentation at a point near where the link is posted or displayed
● The label or hashtag(s) should be clearly identified and prominent, not hidden at the end of a lengthy caption or in subsequent comments
● For links that appear in mobile applications, the disclosure needs to be “above the fold”, which means it is visible once the page loads without needing to scroll. It should not be located at the bottom of a field of text, or in small print tucked into a menu
The overall message of an advertisement or marketing communication cannot be misleading – so, even if you have a disclosure, if the overall message is such that it could mislead or deceive a consumer, then a single or small disclosure may not be enough.
DE Guidance
Legal requirements for affiliate marketing
In affiliate marketing, the relevant legal requirements in Germany must be observed, which may arise in particular from the Unfair Competition Act (" Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb" or " UWG"), the Telemedia Act (" Telemediengesetz" or " TMG") and the Media State Treaty (" Medienstaatsvertrag" or " MStV"). As a partner of the ePN, you are required to design your content in accordance with these legal requirements. Violations of this may result in your exclusion from the "ePN affiliate program".
Legal requirements for advertising in Germany
Any advertising must in particular be clearly recognizable as such and clearly separated from other content. What does that mean exactly?
- Clear labeling
● Promotional contributions in online media should be clearly marked with the German terms " Werbung" (advertising) or " Anzeige" (advertisement). The use of wordings in other languages (e.g., the English wording "ad" or "sponsored by") is in general not sufficient.
● When using hashtags to indicate the commercial purpose, the corresponding hashtag ("# Werbung" or " #Anzeige") should be at the beginning of several hashtags.
● The use of affiliate links also constitutes advertising in principle, which must be marked accordingly.
- Clear separation
● All advertising content must be clearly separated from editorial content.
●The separation must also be clearly recognizable through the external design. The layout of advertising content should not be designed in the same way as editorial content.
● The more similar the advertising content is to the editorial content in terms of its design, the clearer the labeling must be (see above).
Advertising must not be misleading. In addition, subliminal techniques must not be used.
Further information and examples (including specific labeling recommendations) can be found in the Medienanstalten's Guide - Advertising Labeling in Online Media (die-medienanstalten.de) (German only).
Other legal requirements & in particular data protection
In addition to these requirements relating to advertising and competition law, all other relevant legal requirements must of course also be observed. If personal data is collected or otherwise processed in the context of affiliate marketing, for example, the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and the German Federal Data Protection Act ("BDSG") must be observed.
Digital Services Act
It should be noted that from 17 February 2024, when the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or "DSA") becomes fully applicable, more extensive requirements and obligations will apply to affiliate marketing, which must also be complied with from then on.
IT Guidance
Under Italian law, advertising is subject to a structured and legal framework, as it is regulated both by law and by self-regulation. As to the law, the main sources are: (i) the Italian civil code, (ii) the Italian consumer code, (iii) Legislative Decree No. 145/2007 on misleading advertising, and (iv) Legislative Decree No. 208/2021, i.e. the consolidated law for the provision of audiovisual media services, whose scope of application has been extended by the Italian Communications Authority’s influencer marketing guidelines.
As to self-regulation, advertising is also regulated by the Advertising Self-regulatory Institute (“IAP”) through the Advertising Self-regulatory Code (“IAP Code”).
As a partner of EPN, you are required to design your promotional content in accordance with the applicable legal framework, as further detailed below. Any violations may result in your exclusion from the “ePN affiliate program”.
Legal requirements for advertising in Italy
Any commercial communication shall be governed by the principles of transparency and fairness. This means that your advertisements shall:
● be easily recognizable as such and clearly distinguished from any other content, including editorial content. In this regard, the separation must also be clearly recognizable through prominent external design and the layout of advertising content should not be designed in the same way as editorial content;
● not be misleading or deceptive as to the characteristics of the product, and its price or the related calculation method;
● not use subliminal techniques.
Further to the above, the IAP Code sets forth the following specific rules and instructions for advertising in the online context, with respect to clear labeling:
● any promotional content shall be clearly marked with the following hashtags, as applicable: “Pubblicità/Advertising”, “Sponsorizzato da .../Sponsored by … [name of the brand]”, “Promosso da…/Promoted by … [name of the brand]” or “In collaborazione con…/In partnership with … [name of the brand]”. The use of English abbreviations as “ad” or “adv” is not sufficient. In the event that the promotional content is represented by a post on a social media platform, the above hashtags shall be included within the first three hashtags;
● any promotional content which has already been posted shall be disclosed as promotional also when it is shared or “reposted” on other online platforms, including social media platforms, to ensure that such advertising content is identified throughout its entire life cycle;
● transparency obligations currently applicable to human influencers also apply to virtual influencers;
● promotional content consisting of an affiliate marketing practice and thus implying the use of affiliate links, shall include a warning that indicates its promotional purpose, unless otherwise clarified in such context.
Additional legal requirements in the field of data protection
In addition to the requirements set forth above from a consumer and competition law standpoint, further legal requirements shall be observed in the event that personal data is collected, or otherwise processed, in the context of affiliate marketing practices. In such case, Regulation (EU) No. 679/2016 (i.e., the General Data Protection Regulation, hereinafter “GDPR”) and Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 (i.e., the Italian Privacy Code), as amended by Legislative Decree No. 101/2018, apply.