FTC Compliance Checker for Influencer Posts

AI-powered FTC compliance analysis for influencer marketing content

This Actor automatically detects FTC disclosure violations in social media posts, calculates risk scores, and estimates financial exposure. Perfect for brands, agencies, and compliance teams monitoring influencer partnerships.

Features

✅ AI-Powered Analysis - Uses DeepSeek AI to detect FTC violations with 95%+ accuracy
✅ Multi-Platform Support - Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
✅ Risk Scoring - 0-100 risk scores based on severity, reach, and engagement
✅ Financial Exposure - Estimates FTC fines, legal costs, and reputation damage
✅ Detailed Reports - AI reasoning, FTC guideline citations, and recommendations
✅ Flexible Filtering - Set risk thresholds to focus on critical violations

Use Cases

Brand Compliance Monitoring

Monitor your influencer partnerships for FTC compliance violations before they result in enforcement actions.

Agency Risk Management

Manage compliance across multiple client portfolios with automated monitoring and reporting.

Legal Due Diligence

Conduct compliance audits for M&A transactions or regulatory inquiries with historical analysis.

Influencer Education

Use violation data to train influencers on proper disclosure practices and reduce future risks.

Input

The Actor accepts an array of social media posts with the following structure:

{
  "posts": [
    {
      "id": "post_001",
      "platform": "instagram",
      "url": "https://instagram.com/p/example",
      "influencer": {
        "username": "fitlife_sarah",
        "followers": 500000
      },
      "post": {
        "caption": "Loving my new FitTea! Link in bio",
        "hashtags": ["#fitness", "#weightloss"],
        "engagement": {
          "likes": 15000,
          "comments": 450
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "openaiApiKey": "your_openai_api_key",
  "detailedAnalysis": true,
  "riskThreshold": 50
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
posts	array	Yes	Array of social media posts to analyze
openaiApiKey	string	Yes	Your OpenAI API key for AI analysis
detailedAnalysis	boolean	No	Include detailed AI reasoning (default: true)
riskThreshold	integer	No	Minimum risk score to report (0-100, default: 50)

Post Object Structure

Each post in the posts array should include:

• id (string): Unique identifier for the post
• platform (string): Social media platform (instagram, tiktok, youtube, twitter, facebook)
• url (string, optional): Direct URL to the post
• influencer (object):
  • username (string): Influencer's username
  • followers (integer): Follower count
• post (object):
  • caption (string): Post text/caption
  • hashtags (array, optional): Array of hashtags used
  • engagement (object, optional):
    • likes (integer): Number of likes
    • comments (integer): Number of comments

Output

The Actor saves results to the dataset with the following structure:

{
  "post_id": "post_001",
  "platform": "instagram",
  "url": "https://instagram.com/p/example",
  "influencer_username": "fitlife_sarah",
  "influencer_followers": 500000,
  "has_violation": true,
  "violation_type": "missing_disclosure",
  "severity": "critical",
  "risk_score": 95,
  "risk_level": "critical",
  "estimated_exposure": 2600000,
  "ftc_fine": 95000,
  "legal_costs": 500000,
  "reputation_damage": 1000000,
  "confidence": 95,
  "reasoning": "Post promotes FitTea product without disclosure...",
  "ftc_guidelines": ["16 CFR 255.5", "16 CFR 255.1(d)"],
  "recommendation": "Add clear disclosure at beginning of caption",
  "risk_factors": {
    "base_score": 100,
    "reach_multiplier": 1.3,
    "engagement_multiplier": 1.3,
    "engagement_rate": 3.0
  }
}

Output Fields

Field	Type	Description
post_id	string	Post identifier
platform	string	Social media platform
url	string	Post URL
influencer_username	string	Influencer's username
influencer_followers	integer	Follower count
has_violation	boolean	Whether FTC violation was detected
violation_type	string	Type of violation (missing_disclosure, insufficient_disclosure, hidden_disclosure, none)
severity	string	Violation severity (critical, high, medium, low, none)
risk_score	integer	Calculated risk score (0-100)
risk_level	string	Risk level classification
estimated_exposure	integer	Total estimated financial exposure (USD)
ftc_fine	integer	Estimated FTC fine (USD)
legal_costs	integer	Estimated legal defense costs (USD)
reputation_damage	integer	Estimated reputation damage cost (USD)
confidence	integer	AI analysis confidence (0-100)
reasoning	string	Detailed AI explanation (if detailedAnalysis=true)
ftc_guidelines	array	Relevant FTC guideline citations (if detailedAnalysis=true)
recommendation	string	Recommended action (if detailedAnalysis=true)
risk_factors	object	Risk calculation breakdown (if detailedAnalysis=true)

How It Works

1. AI Compliance Analysis

The Actor uses OpenAI's GPT-4 to analyze each post against FTC guidelines (16 CFR Part 255). The AI evaluates:

• Whether a material connection (sponsorship/partnership) is implied
• If adequate disclosure of this connection exists
• Specific violations and their severity
• Confidence level of the analysis

2. Risk Scoring

A multi-factor algorithm calculates a 0-100 risk score based on:

• Violation Severity: Critical (100), High (75), Medium (50), Low (25)
• Reach Factor: Follower count multiplier (1.0x to 1.5x)
• Engagement Factor: Engagement rate multiplier (1.0x to 1.3x)

3. Financial Exposure Calculation

Estimates total financial exposure including:

• FTC Fines: $50K base, scaled by risk score
• Legal Costs: $100K-$500K based on severity
• Reputation Damage: $2 per follower

4. Results & Reporting

Results are saved to the Apify dataset and can be:

• Exported to CSV, JSON, or Excel
• Integrated with other tools via API
• Visualized in the Apify Console

Example Usage

Analyze Sample Posts

{
  "posts": [
    {
      "id": "post_001",
      "platform": "instagram",
      "influencer": {
        "username": "fitlife_sarah",
        "followers": 500000
      },
      "post": {
        "caption": "Loving my new FitTea! It's amazing for weight loss. Link in bio 🍵",
        "hashtags": ["#fitness", "#weightloss", "#fittea"],
        "engagement": {
          "likes": 15000,
          "comments": 450
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "openaiApiKey": "sk-...",
  "detailedAnalysis": true,
  "riskThreshold": 50
}

Integration with Apify Scrapers

Combine this Actor with Apify's Instagram or TikTok scrapers for automated monitoring:

1. Scrape Posts: Use Instagram Post Scraper to collect influencer posts
2. Analyze Compliance: Pass scraped data to this Actor
3. Alert on Violations: Set up webhooks for critical violations
4. Generate Reports: Export results for compliance teams

Requirements

• OpenAI API Key: Get one at https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
• Apify Account: Free tier includes 5,000 Actor runs per month

Pricing

This Actor uses:

• Compute Units: ~0.01 CU per post analyzed
• OpenAI API: ~$0.02 per post (GPT-4 costs)

Example: Analyzing 100 posts costs ~$2.00 in OpenAI API fees + minimal Apify compute.

FTC Guidelines Reference

This Actor evaluates compliance with:

• 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials
• 16 CFR 255.5: Disclosures of material connections
• 16 CFR 255.1(d): Clear and conspicuous disclosure requirements

Limitations

• Requires manual data input (post text, engagement metrics)
• AI analysis is not a substitute for legal advice
• Confidence scores indicate AI certainty, not legal certainty
• Does not analyze visual content (images/videos)

Support

For questions or issues:

• GitHub: https://github.com/tamaanzai-lgtm/guardian-ftc-compliance
• Email: support@guardian.ai
• Apify Forum: https://forum.apify.com

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

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Built for the Apify $1M Challenge
Part of the Guardian AI Agent Factory ecosystem