Venable Hosts Beauty Law Glow-Up Podcast to Discuss Marketing Compliance with AI and Influencers

The law firm Venable has launched a new podcast, The Beauty Law Glow-Up. The podcast, hosted by Claudia Lewis, co-chair of the firm’s FDA group, was joined by partners Caitlin Blanche and Len Gordon to discuss advertising compliance in the age of AI and influencer marketing.

“If you are using an AI-generated image to say or imply that this is what you [the consumer] will look like, your skin will be that smooth, or the blemishes will disappear, that’s dangerous, that’s not real, and that’s a problem in advertising.”

Gordon said that beauty companies are experiencing challenges related to influencers’ use of AI-generated or enhanced images. “Influencer marketing is so powerful because consumers think it’s real. That it’s a real person who has had a real experience. So, the skepticism that someone might have when they see an ad, a pop-up, or a television ad, that skepticism isn’t applied,” in the case of influencer marketing.

Blanche, who specializes in defense against class actions, said that the plaintiff’s bar is taking notice and aggressively targeting the use of influencers in advertising.

“Last year, we saw a spike in influencer advertising cases,” she said. “It certainly wasn’t a big tidal wave, but we saw some plaintiff’s attorneys testing the waters with either lack of disclosure or inadequate paid advertising disclosures for influences,” and, in some cases, suing influencers. Plaintiff’s attorneys have motive to be the first to take on a false advertising case related to influencers to receive a classified settlement, Blanche said.

For that reason, it’s important for every brand to have enforceable class action waivers and arbitration waivers at their disposal, Blanche said.