Do Creators Need to Label Ads? Werbekennzeichnung Explained

Yes. If you are a creator in Germany and you receive any payment, free product, or commercial benefit in exchange for content, that content usually needs to be clearly marked as advertising. In practice, that means using a visible label like Werbung or Anzeige, placed where viewers will see it immediately, not buried at the end of a caption.

This applies whether you are posting on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or any other platform. It also applies whether you are getting cash, gifted items, affiliate commissions, or long-term collaboration deals. The format of the benefit does not change the obligation. What matters is whether a commercial purpose exists and whether your audience can see it.

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What the law actually says

German advertising law approaches disclosure from one core principle: audiences have the right to know when they are being marketed to. Two rules form the foundation.

Section 5a of the Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG), the German Act Against Unfair Competition, prohibits misleading commercial omissions. If the commercial purpose of a post is not made clear and that omission could influence a viewer's decision, the post may be unlawful.

Section 22 of the Medienstaatsvertrag (MStV), the Interstate Media Treaty, goes further. It says advertising must be clearly recognisable and separated from other content. This applies to social media, blogs, podcasts, and online video.

Together, these rules mean the test is not just "did I get paid?" The question is whether the commercial nature of the content is obvious to someone who sees it for the first time.

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What the Federal Court of Justice ruled

The clearest guidance on how these rules apply to creators came from a series of rulings by the Bundesgerichtshof, Germany's Federal Court of Justice. On 9 September 2021, the court decided three cases involving influencer advertising on Instagram (cases I ZR 90/20, I ZR 125/20, and I ZR 126/20). A fourth ruling followed on 13 January 2022 (I ZR 35/21).

The BGH's 2021 press release made several things clear for creators.

First, if a creator receives any compensation for a post, including free products, that post must be labelled as advertising. The compensation does not have to be cash. A gifted item counts.

Second, the court said a post without compensation does not automatically need a label, but it can if its overall impression is excessively promotional, for example when it links directly to a brand's shop. Since 28 May 2022, §5a(4) UWG sets the rule out in law: a post promoting another business has no commercial purpose if the creator receives no payment or similar consideration for it. However, the law presumes that consideration was received unless the creator can credibly show otherwise.

Third, the label must be visible on first glance. A disclosure buried in a long caption, shown only at the end of a video, or placed in a location most viewers would miss does not meet the standard. The court was direct: if viewers have already been drawn in before they see the label, the label has not done its job.

Under §5a(4) UWG, free products count as consideration in the same way as money, so a gifted item connected to a post triggers the labelling requirement.

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When exactly does labelling apply?

The practical scope is broader than many creators expect. Labelling is generally required when:

• A brand pays you to create or post content
• A brand sends you free products, services, events, or experiences in connection with a post
• You earn a commission through affiliate links embedded in your content
• A long-term collaboration agreement exists, even if individual posts are not directly paid
• You are promoting your own paid products or services and the commercial purpose is not already obvious from context

The one area that requires more careful assessment is self-promotion. If you are clearly talking about your own paid offer and the commercial nature is evident from the context, a label may not always be required. But if the post is formatted like a neutral recommendation or review, the safer approach is to disclose.

When in doubt, label it. The risk of over-disclosing is minimal. The risk of under-disclosing is not.

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How to label correctly across different formats

The label needs to be immediate and unambiguous. Here is how that works in practice across different formats.

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Feed posts on Instagram, TikTok, and similar platforms

Place the label at the very start of the caption or visually on the image itself. Accepted terms include:

• Werbung
• Anzeige
• Bezahlte Werbepartnerschaft mit [brand name]
• Werbung or Anzeige alongside the platform's paid partnership tool (the tool alone may not be enough)

A label placed after three or four lines of text, or below a "read more" cut-off, does not meet the first-glance standard the BGH described. It needs to be the first thing a viewer reads.

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Stories

Stories present a specific challenge because they are brief and sequential. The disclosure must appear on the first frame, not the last. It should be large enough to read without effort and should not be hidden behind stickers, overlays, or other elements.

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Video content

For YouTube, TikTok, and similar formats, the disclosure should appear clearly within the first few seconds of the video and remain on screen long enough to register. A small watermark in the corner that disappears after two seconds is not sufficient. Many creators also include a spoken disclosure at the start of the video and a written note in the video description.

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Affiliate content

Affiliate links carry a commercial incentive even when no brand has directly briefed the creator. The audience should be told upfront that the link may generate a commission. A simple, honest line at the start of the caption is more effective than a vague disclaimer at the bottom.

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What happens if you do not label

The consequences of missing a disclosure are real and have been tested in German courts.

A competitor, consumer protection organisation, or regulator can issue a formal warning letter (Abmahnung). These letters typically demand that the creator sign a cease-and-desist declaration and may include a demand for legal cost reimbursement. Refusing to sign can lead to injunction proceedings.

In more serious cases, fines can follow. These usually come from the state media authorities (Landesmedienanstalten) under the Medienstaatsvertrag, while the UWG is mostly enforced through warning letters, injunctions and contractual penalties. For creators who work with brands regularly, a pattern of unlabelled posts creates compounding risk.

Beyond the legal side, there is a practical one. Brands are increasingly aware of disclosure requirements. A creator with a history of compliance problems becomes a harder partner to work with. Brands that take their own legal obligations seriously will want to see that the creator they are collaborating with takes theirs seriously too.

Getting the disclosure habit right from the first brand deal is easier than correcting it later. Creators who build long-term professional profiles treat compliance as a standard part of how they work, not as an occasional legal worry.

The difference between paid, gifted, affiliate, and self-promotional content

These four categories are not identical, and the disclosure approach can differ slightly between them.

Paid promotion almost always requires a clear label. If money has changed hands for the content, the commercial purpose is direct and the label is non-negotiable.

Gifted promotion requires a label when the gift is connected to the post. If a brand sends you a product and you post about it, even without a formal payment agreement, §5a(4) UWG makes clear that this is enough to trigger the disclosure requirement.

Affiliate promotion requires disclosure because a financial incentive exists. The audience clicking your link may not know you earn a commission on sales. That information is material to how they assess your recommendation.

Self-promotional content is more nuanced. If you are openly selling your own subscription, your own merchandise, or your own paid content, the commercial purpose is usually obvious. But if the post is formatted to look like organic content while quietly directing people towards a purchase, a label is the safer choice.

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A pre-publishing checklist for creators

Before posting any branded or commercial content, run through these five questions:

• Did I receive any payment, product, or other benefit connected to this post?
• Is the commercial purpose obvious to someone seeing this for the first time?
• Is the label placed where it will be seen immediately, before anything else?
• Does the label use a clear German term that any audience member would understand?
• Would I be comfortable if a regulator or competitor reviewed this post today?

If the answer to any of these is uncertain, add the label. The disclosure costs nothing. A warning letter costs significantly more.

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How this connects to your wider legal obligations as a creator

Advertising disclosure does not exist in isolation. It sits alongside other legal requirements that commercial creators in Germany need to be aware of. One of the most commonly overlooked is the Impressumspflicht, the obligation to publish a legal notice on commercial profiles. If you are operating as a creator with a commercial purpose, you may need an Impressum on your website, blog, or social profiles. Our post on Impressumspflicht for creators covers when this applies and what information it needs to include.

The broader point is that professional creator activity in Germany increasingly looks like running a small business, because legally, it often is. The German media regulators (die Medienanstalten) have published guidance that supports the BGH rulings and confirms that the medienrechtlichen rules under the MStV take priority in cases where both the UWG and the MStV could apply.

Creators who build their practice around compliance from the start are in a stronger position when brands come calling, when audiences grow, and when the first difficult question arrives.

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Why the platform you build on matters

For creators who want to move beyond one-off brand deals and build direct fan relationships, the bigger picture is how well your platform supports that transition. Advertising income is one revenue stream. Direct fan subscriptions, exclusive content, and ongoing engagement are others. The same labelling rules apply when you promote your own MALOUM profile on Instagram or TikTok: a post that openly invites people to subscribe is usually clearly commercial, but a post styled as a casual recommendation should carry a label.

MALOUM is built around that kind of direct creator-fan relationship. The platform supports creator discovery so fans can find you through the MALOUM creator directory, and it is designed for creators who want to build consistent, recurring income from their audience rather than depending on brand campaigns alone. Creators across many categories are building that kind of sustainable setup on MALOUM today.If you are ready to start building a direct fan business alongside your brand work, you can join MALOUM as a creator here.

In Germany, any paid, gifted, or affiliate-driven content needs to be clearly labelled as advertising. The standard is first-glance visibility, using plain terms like Werbung or Anzeige. The Federal Court of Justice has confirmed this in multiple rulings, and the Medienstaatsvertrag reinforces it.

For creators getting their first brand deal or their first gifted product, the habit to build is simple: decide the label before you write the caption, not after.

Last checked: 23 October 2026

This post is general information, not legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified German media or competition law specialist.

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FAQ

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Do I need to label a post if a brand just sent me a free product?

Yes, in most cases. Under §5a(4) UWG, a free product counts as consideration in the same way as payment, so a post connected to a gifted product needs a label when it promotes the brand. You do not need to have received cash for the obligation to apply. If the product was sent in connection with the post, label it clearly as Werbung or Anzeige.

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Is a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored enough in Germany?

Not reliably. German law requires that the commercial purpose be immediately clear to a German-speaking audience. Terms like Werbung and Anzeige are widely understood and leave no ambiguity. English-language hashtags like #ad or #sponsored may not meet the first-glance clarity standard that German courts have set, particularly when the post is aimed primarily at a German audience.

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Do affiliate links need a disclosure even if no brand briefed me?

Yes. If you earn a commission when someone clicks or buys through your link, a financial incentive exists. The audience should know that before they decide whether to follow the link. A clear, upfront disclosure is the correct approach, even if the brand did not ask you to post and did not send you anything directly.

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What is the risk of not labelling a post correctly?

A competitor, consumer protection organisation, or regulatory body can issue a formal warning letter (Abmahnung) demanding a cease-and-desist declaration and potentially reimbursement of legal costs. Continued violations can lead to injunction proceedings, contractual penalties and, under the Medienstaatsvertrag, fines from the state media authorities. For creators building long-term brand partnerships, a compliance record also has practical value: brands with their own legal obligations increasingly look for creators who take disclosure seriously.

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Does self-promotion of my own content or products need a label?

It depends on how the post is presented. If you are clearly and openly promoting your own paid subscription or product and the commercial purpose is obvious from context, a label may not always be required. However, if the post is formatted to look like organic content or a neutral recommendation while directing people towards a purchase, adding a label is the safer and more transparent choice.

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