The platforms built their own disclosure. On Instagram, a creator with branded content tools turned on tags the brand partner in the post and the label “Paid partnership” appears with the brand’s name once the brand approves the tag (Instagram). Instagram’s Branded Content Policies require the label whenever a creator posts branded content, and they count free or loaned products and affiliate links as branded content, not only cash (Instagram). On TikTok, the creator turns on the commercial content disclosure toggle, and the post is labelled automatically as branded content when it is posted on behalf of a third party (TikTok).
The label has a second job. On Meta, it is what lets a brand later run the post as a partnership ad, since the brand partner tag is the permission hook.
Example. A creator posts a review with a commission code and tags the brand. The brand approves the tag, and the post shows “Paid partnership with [brand]”. Two weeks later the brand asks to promote the post; the creator allows it, and the ad runs from the creator’s handle. The creator adds a spoken “they pay me a commission” in the first seconds, because the label alone may be missed. Example.
When brands use it. The pain this answers: “Getting a creator’s video live as a Partnership Ad is a mess of downloads and permissions.” The label is the first step of the permission. Brands ask for the label on every creator post because it is platform policy, because it is the route to partnership ads, and because it shows the brand took disclosure seriously if anyone asks.
The creator’s view. The label is necessary and not sufficient. The FTC’s guide says a platform’s disclosure tool may be used but should not be assumed to be enough, and that the creator should add their own clear disclosure in the content (FTC). Label on, words in the video, both.