FTC reviews rule: virtual influencers allowed, fake reviews not

According to the FTC's Q&A on its Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, effective Oct 21, 2024, section 465.2 bans fake reviews and testimonials but does not prohibit virtual influencers. An avatar spokesperson is therefore not banned by that rule, while a made-up customer review, or an avatar presented as a real customer, is. This is a summary, not legal advice.

What the rule says in the Q&A

The FTC page is a Q&A for the rule. Per the page, fake reviews and testimonials are covered by section 465.2; virtual influencers as such are not prohibited, but a company must not misrepresent that the influencer exists as a real person or has used the product. Read the Q&A in full for what counts as fake, since this post relies only on those two points.

A practical split for avatar clips

The line is between a presenter and a fabricated witness. A virtual spokesperson reading a script that describes your product is a presenter. A script that invents a customer who bought and loved it is the kind of content the rule is about.

• Write scripts as claims you can support, in the brand's voice.
• Do not script first-person customer experiences that did not happen.
• Add a visible line that the presenter is a virtual spokesperson if your policy or the platform requires it.
• Keep a record of who approved the script.

Making the clip on Sume

POST /v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video takes a ready avatar by avatar_handle and exactly one of script or video_inputs. The docs accept scripts that Sume estimates at 4-60 seconds, in 1:1, 3:4, 9:16, 4:3 or 16:9, at 720p.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: spokesperson-001" \
  -d '{
    "avatar_handle": "studio_presenter",
    "script": "Hi, I am a virtual presenter for Acme. Here is how the new kit works.",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16"
  }'

Takeaway

Check the FTC Q&A and platform rules for your market before publishing. Sume's docs do not provide legal guidance; they describe the render.