The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has issued a warning to influencer Forstner Csenge for inadequately marking the advertising nature of her promotional posts. The GVH's Competition Council mandated her and her family business to implement an internal compliance program.

In total, the GVH imposed fines amounting to 9 million Forint on the businesses that sold the advertised products and the influencer agency involved. This decision follows an investigation initiated in May 2024, which examined the practices of six Hungarian influencers and various advertising companies.

The investigation revealed that Forstner Csenge's posts lacked proper advertising disclosures in 38 instances, with 31 posts failing to mark their advertising nature and 7 posts completely omitting it. The GVH also assessed the responsibilities of the influencer agency and three advertising companies in this case.

The GVH's sanctions included a warning to Forstner Csenge and her family business, along with a requirement to establish a compliance program. Fines were imposed on the companies responsible for the posts that completely lacked advertising disclosures, including 4 million Forint each for Infinite Styles Services Co., Limited and L’Oreal Magyarország Kozmetikai Kft., and 1 million Forint for the influencer agency.

The GVH provided guidance on proper advertising disclosures, stating that hashtags like #reklám or #hirdetés should be placed at the beginning of the accompanying text in social media posts, or visually highlighted disclosures should be used. The authority is closely monitoring the commercial practices of domestic influencers due to their significant impact on consumer behavior.

In November 2023, the GVH conducted an online sweep to review the advertising practices of local influencers, finding that only 20% complied with the rules for marking advertising content. Currently, three out of the six influencer investigations initiated in May 2024 are still ongoing.