Advertising therapeutic goods on social media

Social media plays an integral role for businesses in driving consumer engagement with advertising, which is embedded in these platforms. Businesses employ various social media marketing strategies to strengthen consumer engagement including the use of public figures known as influencers to promote and/or advertise their products.

Under the Act, any statement, pictorial representation or design that is intended to draw attention to and promote the use or supply of therapeutic goods or vaping goods, is likely to be considered to be advertising.

This includes but is not limited to social media activities that are intended to: 

• attract new customers, including by encouraging consumers to seek out a therapeutic good or vaping goods
• encourage consumption or use of therapeutic goods or vaping goods
• build loyalty and trust in a product or brand
• sell products
• drive website traffic.

For more information on the characteristics of promotional material, see our page on Determining if your content is advertising.

Social media refers to a group of interaction-enabling tools (websites and applications) that allow internet users to connect and interact based on common interests by creating and sharing ideas, information, personal messages, experiences, and other content including audio and video clips.

Examples of social media platforms include:

• Social communities (Facebook, Whatsapp)
• Professional networking (LinkedIn, Yammer)
• Social text publishing tools (Blogs, Wikipedia, SlideShare)
• Social photo publishing tools (Pinterest, Instagram)
• Social audio publishing tools (Spotify, iTunes, podcasts)
• Social video publishing tools (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram)
• Microblogging (X/Twitter, Tumblr)
• Discussion networks (Discord, Reddit, Quora)

The definition of ‘advertise’ in the Act applies to all types of social media, including (but not limited to):

• Social media platforms that are used to reach or interact with as many individuals as possible and are considered to be aimed at the public.
• Social media platforms that are used as a ‘closed channel’ for specific audiences, such as dark marketing, Facebook groups or closed channels on LinkedIn, unless they satisfy the requirements for advertising exclusively to health professionals.

Example

A pharmaceutical company runs a private patient support group for sufferers of a particular health condition and their families. The group engages in online discussions about medicines and treatment options for the condition.

Although this is a private group, posts and discussions that advertise therapeutic goods are still subject to all relevant legislative requirements.

For a list of social media tools and their definitions, please refer to the Glossary.

Our requirements for advertising therapeutic goods depend on the type of product you are promoting, the ingredients it contains, how it works and what you are intending to say about it.

Some therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicines and biologicals, are prohibited from being advertised to the public. Other products have limitations placed on what you can say about them but can be advertised to consumers provided advertisements comply with the Code.

We recommend reviewing our page on What can and cannot be advertised to the general public.

It is your responsibility to ensure your content complies with the requirements for advertising therapeutic goods.

Businesses and social media account holders (including influencers) are responsible for any social media content created or managed by them. This responsibility may extend to user-generated content, including third-party comments posted on your social media platforms.

Examples of social media activities, the circumstances when they are likely to be considered advertising and specific requirements to be mindful of are provided below.

Please note that these are not the only activities that would be considered advertising. Businesses and individuals involved with the therapeutic goods industry must assess their individual content carefully.

To ensure your content is not considered misleading, consumers should be able to immediately recognise when content is advertising, without having to click or otherwise interact with it.

This includes advertising from influencers and content creators, including paid endorsements, which must clearly be identified as advertising. Failure to do so may also be considered a breach of Australian Consumer Law.

Engaging influencers

We recommend that businesses review the content made by any influencers and content creators they engage with to ensure its compliance. Where the advertising is paid for and posted on a business’ behalf, they may be responsible for any non-compliance.

Additionally, businesses should ensure any influencers and content creators they engage are informed that the product is a therapeutic good and are made aware of the relevant advertising requirements.

Social media posts and comments

Social media posts, such as text, images, videos (e.g. reels, stories), links, profile content, sponsored advertising, and comments on these posts are some of the most commonly used social media tools.

Social media posts about therapeutic goods that are disseminated by, or on behalf of, a person with a financial interest in the sale of the goods, such as manufacturers, sponsors or retailers are more likely to be considered promotional.

Additionally, posts are more likely to be viewed as promotional where they:

• mention a product name or brand
• highlight its therapeutic uses, benefits, features and other positive aspects
• contain a testimonial or endorsement
  • including where these are implied or more subtle
• use certain links, tags and hashtags.

We recommend that business owners develop a social media acceptable use policy that sets out guidelines to ensure that any comments and product reviews comply with the legislative requirements.

We have provided a social media acceptable use policy that advertisers can use on their digital platforms. For more information see our social media acceptable use policy template.

Product reviews

Third-party reviews, including comments on social media posts by users who claim to have used therapeutic goods are testimonials and must comply with the advertising requirements. For more information, see testimonials and endorsements in advertising.

It is important to remember that some therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicines, cannot be advertised to the public, including via testimonials and endorsements.

The requirements in the Code help to ensure that consumers who rely on online reviews of therapeutic goods receive an accurate and unbiased picture of what other consumers think.

Businesses and social media account holders should actively monitor their social media channels to:

• remove unlawful posts and comments
• note any potential adverse events reported through social media channels in consumer reviews and comments
• ensure any testimonials (including within comments) comply with the Code, see testimonials and endorsements in advertising.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also highlights that creating fake/misleading reviews or excluding genuine reviews that are negative to skew the public perception of the goods is deceptive advertising and against the law. We remind advertisers that advertising for therapeutic goods must comply with both the legislation administered by the TGA and Australian Consumer Law administered by the ACCC.

Links, tags and hashtags

Many social media platforms use links, tags and/or hashtags (#) to help users search for specific information easily. These tools can change the context by which social media content is disseminated, for example by reaching a broader audience, or promoting a specific product, its benefits or features.

Where an advertisement provides links, tags and/or hashtags, the linked material is considered part of the advertisement, even where the linked material is external. It is the account holder’s responsibility to ensure that any linked or tagged content complies with the advertising requirements.

Advertisers should carefully consider the potential messages links, tags and/or hashtags convey to consumers. For example:

• If advertising for a medicine uses hashtags naming a particular disease, this would likely be considered advertising the medicine for that disease.
• Hashtags that refer to prescription medicines or substances, trade names, abbreviations, acronyms or colloquialisms are likely to be taken by a consumer as an advertisement for a specific medicine or substance.

Example

A pharmaceutical company shares a link on their social media pages to a clinical trial report discussing their medicine as a potential new treatment for certain medical conditions. As the company has a financial interest in the sale of medicine, a reader is more likely to view this as promotional than if the report was viewed with no additional context. This social media post is likely to be considered to be advertising and must comply with all relevant legislation.

Linking or tagging government bodies

Unless specifically permitted, it is unlawful to imply that therapeutic goods are endorsed by government. For more information see The claim 'TGA approved' must not be used in advertising.

Advertisers should be careful tagging government bodies, including the TGA, within a post about a specific product. In some contexts, this may lead viewers to interpret this as an endorsement of the goods by the government body.

Example

A company advertises its sunscreen product by using the following statement:

“Say yes to skin protection using our TGA-approved sunscreen” and providing a link to the ARTG entry of the sunscreen.

Reason for non-compliance

This statement would likely convey to a consumer that the sunscreen has been endorsed or approved by the TGA. Listed medicines, how most primary sunscreens are regulated, are not permitted to state or imply TGA approval. This would likely breach both the Code and the Act in relation to unapproved Government endorsements.

Advertising vs educating consumers

A supermarket chain wants to explain changes to the way customers can access paracetamol products in their stores. They post a link to the TGA’s media release and guidance page on recent regulatory changes to their social media.

The shared content is not promotional and only informs consumers about the regulatory changes. It is unlikely this would be viewed either as an endorsement by the TGA or as an advertisement for a therapeutic good.

Sharing and resharing/reposting

Most social media platforms allow users to share or repost content, enabling wider sharing of information to aid business promotion, engagement and community building.

How users reshare/repost content may vary across the different platforms. For example, the act of ‘liking’ a post on LinkedIn or ‘re-tweeting’ on X (formerly known as Twitter) or ‘tagging’ a certain website or associated social media account may be considered a type of sharing/resharing.

Businesses and social media account holders should take care when sharing/resharing content about therapeutic goods to ensure that it complies with all legislative requirements.

Even if the original shared content is non-promotional, if the context of its resharing promotes the use or supply of the goods, then it is likely to be considered advertising for a therapeutic good and must comply with advertising legislation.

Example

A yoga studio makes an online post about creating a calm environment using essential oil and includes a link to a research report discussing the health benefits of lavender oil. This post does not mention any specific brand or product names and on its own is unlikely to be considered advertising of a therapeutic good.

A company selling lavender oils (which are regulated as listed medicines) reshares the yoga studio’s post. This reshare would likely be considered promoting the company’s lavender essential oil for its calming and other beneficial effects. Therefore, it is considered advertising and must comply with the Code and any other requirements under the Act.

Streaming services

Streaming services have become an increasingly popular medium for watching videos or listening to audio content over the internet without having the need to download it. The content may vary from movies, TV shows to music, podcasts, and livestreams (in the form of live videos and user stories).

Streaming platforms are also an effective way for influencers, businesses and advertisers to enhance consumer engagement, including through ads, sponsorships and subscriptions (viewers pay for exclusive content and perks).

When assessing whether streamed content is advertising, the principles outlined in social media posts and comments apply. Creators should take care to ensure any advertising content on their streamed content complies with the advertising requirements.

Livestreaming

Livestreamed content is recorded and aired in real time to a large audience base over the internet.

For products that can be advertised to the public, creators should pay particular attention to the Code, particularly in relation to ensuring:

• Relevant Mandatory statements and other information required in advertising (such as health warnings) are prominently displayed or communicated
  • We recommend content creators use text overlays to superimpose disclosures/mandatory statements. These should be repeated as often as necessary, providing enough time for viewers to read it to support viewers with hearing difficulties or who are watching without sound
• Testimonials and endorsements comply with the Code, for example:
  • commercial relationships are disclosed when there is an endorsement for a product or brand. This should be repeated periodically for viewers who may watch certain clips of the livestream.
  • testimonials and endorsements are not given by people prohibited by the Code, this includes current or former health practitioners, health professionals or medical researchers
• Where platforms provide the ability to disclose paid partnerships, these should be used. For example, platforms may require or have the option to check a box at the time of posting to disclose this information.
• Scientific and medical terminology or jargon is clearly communicated and easy to understand for consumers. For more information see Using scientific or clinical representations in advertising.

Podcasts

Advertisements for therapeutic goods in podcasts must comply with all relevant advertising requirements.

In addition to the considerations for livestreaming described above, care should be taken to ensure mandatory statements and/or health warnings are clearly communicated i.e. clearly heard and easily understood.

Advertisers should avoid including competing audio elements (music, sounds etc) that may detract from the prominence or capacity for spoken statements to be clearly heard and understood.

For more information see Mandatory statements and other information required in advertising.

Sponsored ads

Sponsored ads, also known as pay-per-click ads or pay-per-view ads, are a form of online advertising in which businesses pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. In relation to social media, these are commonly found throughout users ‘feeds’ to promote content in areas users are more likely to see it.

As the primary purpose of these is to target certain viewers and gain their attention to promote the contents of the ad, any sponsored ads for therapeutic goods would be considered advertising.

Businesses, including pharmaceutical companies, use social media to share and/or disseminate corporate news and updates including partnerships, executive appointments, awards/employee recognition and areas of future development or research.

Business owners and advertisers should assess these communications carefully before they are published and disseminated. If the material is promotional in nature such as by describing the use(s) or benefits of therapeutic goods, then it must comply with advertising requirements.

Corporate news and company announcements should avoid mentioning prescription medicines and unapproved therapeutic goods, particularly alongside the product indication, therapy area, or key product benefits, as this is more likely to be considered advertising.

While we recognise that companies have continuous disclosure obligations, such as Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) reporting, businesses should ensure this content is not considered advertising. Information posted on social media platforms is more likely to be considered advertising as these platforms are not an acceptable form for announcements under the Corporations Act, ASIC or ASX guidelines. For more information, see Therapeutic goods advertising and ASX announcements.

Social media platforms can be used to enhance the awareness of clinical trials and support the recruitment of potential participants from the public.

Announcements may be considered an advertisement for a therapeutic good if they suggest or imply that participation in the trial will result in the supply or administration of a particular therapeutic good.

When using social media to recruit clinical trial participants, clinical trial recruiters must:

• avoid the advertising of prescription medicines or unapproved therapeutic goods, as this is prohibited
  • this includes avoiding making claims about the safety and efficacy of the goods that will be used in the trial, or any comparative claims with other treatments
• ensure they provide transparency through disclosure of information relating to clinical trials as required by the Clinical trial handbook and Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)
• ensure their advertising has been approved by the HREC responsible for monitoring the trial.

1. For more information, see the Australian clinical trial handbook and our Clinical trials guidance.

We recommend businesses provide corrective information if they become aware of any misinformation about their products, including that disseminated by third parties on their social media channels.

Advertisers should ensure any corrective information also complies with the advertising requirements if it is used within an advertisement or is an advertisement in its own right.

Corrective information is less likely to be considered advertising if:

• the response is limited to addressing the specific piece of misinformation and is balanced and non-promotional
• a correction is made with respect to all misinformation in the content, not just the information that puts their product in a negative light.

The internet, including social and digital media, is an important source for reports of adverse events.

Sponsors are expected to collect and record adverse reactions identified from social media channels into their pharmacovigilance systems. They must report all valid serious adverse reactions that occurred in Australia, including those reported to them via their social media, to the TGA within the required timeframe.

Business owners and social media account holders should regularly monitor and record comments on their social media platforms for potential reports of adverse events relating to the use of their goods.

We recommend directing social media audiences to how they can officially report adverse events.

For more information, please refer to the Pharmacovigilance responsibilities of medicine sponsors - Australian recommendations and requirements and our page on reporting adverse events involving medicines, vaccines or medical devices.

Example

A complementary medicine sponsor runs a Facebook group for parents on treatment options for colic or wind in infants. They regularly promote their own product, which contains Atropa belladonna (belladonna), to the group.

As this Facebook group is involved in advertising complementary medicines, the posts are likely to be regulated as advertising and are required to comply with all relevant legislation.

Additionally, as they are the administrator/owner for the Facebook group, the sponsor is responsible for monitoring and reporting comments of suspected adverse events concerning belladonna to the TGA.

The rapid advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has transformed the digital marketing landscape by creating content, automating digital advertising campaigns, delivering tailored customer experiences through the use of chatbots and providing personalised recommendations based on user preferences and behaviour.

Business owners and advertisers are responsible for AI-generated or AI-assisted content that they manage and disseminate, including on social media platforms.

All advertising content for therapeutic goods, including materials generated by or with assistance of AI, must comply with the advertising requirements.

Businesses should be aware of the risks associated with AI-generated advertising content, including non-compliance with the Code. Potential non-compliances with the Code in relation to AI-generated content may include:

• dissemination of inaccurate and misleading information
• advertising which is generated or edited through the artificial and automatic production and modification of data that has not been substantiated by the advertiser
• promoting therapeutic goods using false or misleading product reviews and testimonials, that are not from genuine consumers, including the use of ‘deep fakes’ that are real videos with artificial and fake content.

We have published guidance on how AI text-based products like ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) may be subject to medical device regulations for software if they have a medical purpose and supplied to the general Australian public for consumption. For more information, see Regulation of software based medical devices.

Due to the nature of social media posts and their ready accessibility to consumers regardless of the date posted, all social media posts, historical and new, are required to comply with the advertising requirements. Each day that an advertising contravention is present may be considered a new contravention of the Act and related legislation.

The Code specifically prohibits advertising of therapeutic goods which is directed to children under 12 years of age. Further, advertising directed to children over the age of 12 is only permitted for certain types of therapeutic goods.

Businesses, advertisers and influencers should be mindful of these restrictions when developing or targeting their advertising.

For more information see section 12 of our guidance on Applying the Advertising Code rules: general requirements.

If you wish to use this policy, simply copy and paste into the 'About' tab on your social platforms and be sure to moderate any comments that may result in you breaching legislative requirements.

Registered health professionals read Ahpra’s Advertising hub and their Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service before using this template.

Acceptable use policy

We welcome your comments on our page but ask that you help us comply with the therapeutic goods advertising legislation. Please consider these guidelines before commenting. We will remove any comments that we consider may not be compliant.

We love when you comment and tag your friends and family on our posts but ask that you do not:

• endorse our product (including by providing a testimonial about how the product worked for you) if you are:
  • an employee or contractor of a government, government authority, hospital or healthcare facility.
  • a current or former health practitioner, health professional or medical researcher.
  • a person who represents themselves as being qualified or trained to diagnose, treat or prevent disease, ailment, defect or injury.
  • not using your own name.
  • a person (or family member of a person) who is engaged in the production, marketing or supply of the goods.
• imply that a government, government authority, hospital or healthcare facility endorse our product.
• make comments about how a product works for you outside of its intended purpose, as these comments can be dangerous or misleading. Our products are developed for specific purposes as stated on the label or in our advertising.
• make comments about your own personal experience with using the product if you have received payment of any kind (including free products) to provide a testimonial.
• make comments about serious conditions, diseases, ailments or defects, such as comments about how a product helped with your treatment of a serious disease or how it will relieve a person's serious condition.

We also have an obligation to make sure any advertisements we make, including endorsements and testimonials, are not misleading. Therefore, we promise to disclose where:

• a person has been, or will be, compensated for endorsing the product.
• we have actors sharing the testimonial, such as in cases where the original person who made the testimonial does not want to appear in our advertisement.
• the person making the testimonial is an immediate family member of anyone employed by our business.