How to Label Advertising on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in Poland in 2026: UOKiK and KRRiT Rules and Fines

If you get anything of value for a post – money, a product, a service, a discount or a commission on sales – the content is advertising and has to be labelled so that viewers notice it straight away. Below: how to label advertising on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube under Polish rules, which words to use, where to put them and what a mistake costs. You will find the definition in our glossary: advertising disclosure.

Legal status as of 14 October 2026. This text is for information only and is not legal advice.

UOKiK recommendations: what applies in 2026

There is one version in force: the recommendations of the President of UOKiK on labelling advertising content by influencers of 26 September 2022 (UOKiK is the Polish consumer protection authority). There is no newer version, and articles about “new UOKiK guidelines for 2026” describe the same document.

The recommendations are not a separate law. They interpret rules that have applied for years: the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices (covert advertising, Art. 7(11)), the Act on Combating Unfair Competition (Art. 16) and the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, which sets the fines. UOKiK assesses specific profiles against the recommendations.

Advertising is any content for which you receive a benefit: money, a product, a service, a discount, income from a code or an affiliate link, and also paid travel and accommodation at an event. The form of the agreement does not matter – arrangements made in Instagram messages or on WhatsApp count just like a signed contract. Nor does it matter whether the brand influenced the content.

Which words to use and which to avoid

UOKiK lists the terms it considers unambiguous. Add the brand name to each of them: viewers should know not only that it is an ad, but whose ad it is.

• Recommended: #reklama (“advertisement”), #MateriałReklamowy (“advertising material”), #WspółpracaReklamowa (“advertising collaboration”), #PostSponsorowany (“sponsored post”), #MateriałSponsorowany (“sponsored material”), #PłatnaWspółpraca (“paid collaboration”), or full phrases: „Reklama marki X” (“advertisement for brand X”), „Płatna współpraca z marką X” (“paid collaboration with brand X”).
• Not recommended: English terms (#ad, #advertisement, #collaboration), abbreviations (#spons, #promo, #rek) and ambiguous wording such as #współpraca (“collaboration”) or „materiał powstał we współpracy z…” (“this content was created in collaboration with…”). They do not say that the creator received a benefit.

When you promote your own brand, course or shop and encourage people to buy or add a link, use #autopromocja (“self-promotion”). A first, low-value gift received with no conditions is labelled #prezent (“gift”), but treat further gifts from the same brand as advertising. Gifts, barter and reviews are covered case by case in PR package, barter, gift or advertising?

Where to place the label, format by format

The principle is the same everywhere: viewers must recognise the ad at the very beginning, on a phone and on a computer, without expanding the caption. UOKiK considers a label illegible if it is hidden behind “more”, placed at the end of the caption among hashtags, written in small type or in the colour of the background. On a profile run in Polish, the label is written in Polish too.

• Post and carousel: the label goes in the first line of the caption, before the text is cut off. If you also label the image, put the text on the first slide.
• Stories: the word „Reklama” on the content itself, large and in high contrast, plus a tag of the brand account. A discount code on its own is not a label. Practical tip: add the label to every advertising frame of the series, because a viewer may join the story in the middle.
• Reels and TikTok: the label at the beginning of the caption and on screen, ideally in the first seconds of the video.
• YouTube: in YouTube Studio tick the box „Mój film zawiera płatną promocję” (“My video contains paid promotion”), and viewers will see the notice „Zawiera płatną promocję” (“Includes paid promotion”) (YouTube Help). Name the brand in the first lines of the description. For an integration in the middle of a video, say it is an ad at the start of the segment and keep the text „Fragment sponsorowany” (“sponsored segment”) on screen for its whole length.
• Podcast and live stream: say it out loud at the start of the recording or right before the sponsored segment, and add it to the description.

Is the platform feature enough

Platforms must give users a tool to label commercial content – this follows from Art. 26(2) of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). On Instagram, Facebook and TikTok it is the paid partnership labelling feature (for example a „Płatna współpraca” label); on YouTube it is the box in Studio mentioned above.

UOKiK recommends two-level labelling: the platform feature plus your own label in the caption, on the image or spoken out loud. The platform label alone may not be enough if it is small, gets lost on a light background or the platform changes its design. Ads that a brand runs from your profile are covered in our article on partnership ads and whitelisting.

Affiliate links and discount codes

If you earn a commission on purchases made with your code or affiliate link, the content is advertising even if the brand did not pay for the post itself. Viewers should know this before they click, so say plainly that you earn on purchases made through the link or code, and add an advertising label. In its decision on Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan, UOKiK separately pointed to discount codes shared without saying that she earned from them.

Who is responsible and what a mistake costs

Every business in the chain is responsible: the brand, the agency and the creator. UOKiK treats a creator as a business if they earn from posts regularly, even without a registered company. UOKiK can impose a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover, and up to PLN 2 million on a person managing the company. Its decisions of recent years show what it penalises:

• August 2023, Olimp Laboratories: over PLN 5 million. The brand itself imposed unclear labels on creators, and three people who published its ads were fined between PLN 5,000 and 23,000.
• February 2025, Filip Chajzer: PLN 80,895, among other things for a #reklama label placed at the end of the caption.
• February 2025, Doda: PLN 191,523 for a #współpraca label visible only after expanding the caption. UOKiK rejected the argument that fans know about her collaborations anyway.
• February 2025, Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan: PLN 220,267. She only tagged the brand account and presented advertising as her personal choice. In February 2026 the decision became final.

Separately from UOKiK, complaints are handled by Rada Reklamy, the Polish advertising self-regulation body. In one case in 2026 it found no breach because there was no proof of a benefit. So keep the contract, the brief and your correspondence with the brand: they show on what terms the content was made.

What changes with an entry in the KRRiT list

On 26 February 2026 KRRiT, the Polish National Broadcasting Council, published an information guide for influencers. If you run a business and publish videos as an organised catalogue, you may be subject to entry in the VOD list. Then TV-style rules apply to you as well: labelling commercial communications, product placement rules and protection of minors. According to KRRiT, if you receive a benefit, it is product placement – even if the product only appears in the frame. Product placement is marked with a graphic sign following the template in the guide. Whether the entry applies to you is explained in our article on KRRiT registration.

A label does not make a banned ad legal

A label informs viewers, but it legalises nothing. Tobacco products and e-cigarettes may not be advertised at all. Advertising wine and spirits is banned, and beer advertising is allowed with restrictions. On 8 October 2026 the Sejm passed a full ban on alcohol advertising, including beer. It is planned to enter into force on 1 January 2027, but the law is still waiting for the Senate. Rules for medicines, dietary supplements, medical devices and gambling are covered in our article on advertising regulated products with influencers.

What to put in the contract

In the contract or brief, write down how and where the content will be labelled, who checks the label before publication, and that the creator may refuse to publish without a label. UOKiK says it plainly: if a brand requires incorrect labelling, the creator has the right to turn down the collaboration. You will find the full structure of the document in our influencer contract template.

Advertising labels on Blogger Bank

On Blogger Bank a brand publishes a task that states the format and terms of the collaboration up front. Before applying, the creator already knows what they get in return for the content and that it has to be labelled as advertising. The arrangements stay in the platform chat: if anyone asks about the nature of the content, you have them on record.

Barter collaboration on the platform is advertising too and is labelled the same way as a paid one (see barter in the glossary). The platform charges a 5% commission to the brand and, separately, 5% to the creator, while barter is currently commission-free (as of 22.10.2026) – you can work out the cost of a task in the calculator. Create an account to publish a task or apply to brands’ tasks.