The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) says influencers—streamers, YouTubers, all of them—have to be upfront about any financial deals that might influence their content. That means direct payments, free products, and affiliate links all need to be disclosed. And the rules aren’t vague either. According to the FTC:
- Disclosures must be clear and easy to see. No hiding them in a description somewhere.
- They have to be unavoidable. That means they need to be in the actual video, not just stuck in a hashtag.
- Past sponsorships still count. If a streamer was paid to promote a game and they keep recommending it after the deal ends, they need to say so.
Why does this matter? Because if a streamer doesn’t disclose a deal, viewers have no way of knowing if the recommendation is genuine or just another ad. It’s misleading, it erodes trust, and it can get both the streamer and the company in trouble.
How Streamers Mislead Viewers
The Half-Truth Sponsorship
A streamer is paid to play a game for two hours during a five-hour stream. During the sponsored segment, their stream title says “Sponsored.” The moment they switch to another game, the title changes. Later, the archived stream has no mention of the sponsorship. If someone watches the VOD (video on demand), they’d never know part of the stream was an ad.
The Disappearing Past Sponsorship
A streamer plays a new game at launch, paid for a few hours of gameplay. A week later, they keep playing and recommending it but never mention that they were once paid to promote it. Viewers asking, “Hey, is this game worth it?” have no clue that money might have influenced the answer.
Free Review Copies & Affiliate Links
Plenty of streamers get free games for review but don’t mention it. Some drop affiliate links in their video descriptions—meaning they make money if you buy the game—but don’t say a word about it.
Even when streamers try to follow the rules, their disclosures are often inconsistent. Maybe they mention a sponsorship once during a long stream, but what about the people who watch later? What about those who only see a highlight clip? If the disclosure isn’t obvious, it’s not enough.
Platforms Like YouTube & Twitch? They Don’t Enforce the Rules.
Twitch and YouTube both have disclosure tools, but they rarely make anyone use them.
- YouTube has a checkbox for paid promotions, but many creators ignore it.
- Twitch has a “Sponsored” tag, but it’s optional. A streamer can remove it once the paid segment is over.
- The FTC can fine creators for breaking the rules, but YouTube and Twitch don’t step in unless people make a fuss.
- Neither platform auto-tags past broadcasts as sponsored. If a streamer doesn’t manually add it, it’s like the sponsorship never happened.
- Free copies and affiliate links? No system flags those either.
And then there’s Twitch’s own shady behavior. The platform runs “Gift a Sub” promotions tied to specific games. The catch? Streamers benefit financially from these promotions, yet they don’t disclose that to viewers if they are not on Twitch or after the promotion is over. With these types of promotions, Twitch is making it harder for streamers to comply with FTC regulations.
FTC Crackdowns: When It Goes Wrong
Companies and influencers have already faced serious consequences for violating these guidelines:
- Warner Bros. & PewDiePie (2016): Warner Bros. paid influencers to promote Shadow of Mordor but didn’t require proper disclosure. The FTC cracked down.
- CSGO Lotto (2017): YouTubers TmarTn and Syndicate promoted a gambling site they secretly owned. They got caught.
- Fashion Nova (2025): Fined $4.2 million for suppressing negative reviews to make products look better.
- Genshin Impact Developer (2025): Cognosphere paid $20 million for misleading loot box transactions and not properly disclosing in-game currency pricing.
- The FTC issued warning letters to two trade associations and 12 online influencers (2023): They emphasized the need for clear disclosures of material connections in their social media posts. Future violations could result in civil penalties up to $50,120 per violation.
How Platforms Could Actually Enforce This Stuff
✅ Keep a visible disclosure on the screen during sponsored streams.
✅ Require fields for free copies, affiliate links, and sponsorships.
✅ Auto-tag Twitch VODs and YouTube uploads based on stream titles/tags.
✅ Enforce penalties for repeat offenders who fail to disclose financial relationships.
And it shouldn’t just be on the streamers. If Twitch and YouTube profit from game promotions—whether through direct deals with publishers or their own engagement-boosting events—they should have the tools so content creators can properly make the necessary disclosures. Right now, they let the responsibility fall on individual creators while quietly benefiting in the background.
