Harrisburg, PA — Attorney General Michelle Henry, along with Attorneys General from 29 other states, has announced a settlement with Baron, Inc., operating as Cameo, over violations of consumer protection laws. The settlement addresses Cameo’s failure to ensure consumers were aware that certain promotional videos were paid endorsements.
Cameo allows consumers to purchase personalized videos from celebrities and launched Business Cameo, enabling companies to pay celebrities to endorse their products. However, an investigation found that Cameo did not ensure these videos were properly disclosed as paid endorsements, violating Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations and Pennsylvania’s consumer protection laws. This led to consumers seeing videos where celebrities appeared to be endorsing products without disclosing that they were paid to do so.
Attorney General Henry emphasized the importance of transparency in such endorsements. “Consumers deserve to know when a video they’re seeing has been paid for,” she stated, commending Cameo for agreeing to necessary changes for a more transparent consumer experience.
As part of the settlement, Cameo will develop and maintain programs to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, including FTC guidelines. Measures include:
- Implementing a watermark system for paid advertisements.
- Establishing a system for legal disclosures and acknowledgements from celebrities and consumers.
- Monitoring paid advertisements for compliance.
- Creating reporting mechanisms for non-compliant videos.
The settlement was led by Attorneys General from Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas, and included Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.