Affiliate links for streamers and influencers

What do you have to consider as a streamer/influencer when using affiliate links in your own channels or in the YouTube video description? This article should be a small summary.

The pure integration of affiliate links is probably not a problem with cookies or data protection, as I have described in this post, because in this case cookies are only set on the landing page, if at all, and are therefore the responsibility of the advertiser. Whether this will make it more difficult to track affiliate links in the future is primarily a business issue, but should be taken into account when negotiating and creating corresponding contracts in the field of advertising’s reporting obligations.

This could be the case with solutions that are directly integrated into the stream, e.g. with loot or similar solutions. Here it is necessary to check in detail which data is transmitted and when and whether the stream’s own viewers may need to be informed about data transmissions or whether they have to agree to the setting of cookies. Of course, what has already been said in this post applies here, namely that many foreign providers have not yet thought about European requirements and one should not assume admissibility just because the provider has no requirements or does not mention the problem anywhere.

Of course, it is necessary to inform about the payment of affiliate links, to which you can find a lot of information about the keyword “Influencer” via the search function. A brief summary of the problem with streamers can be found in this article. This note is also important for this reason, so that you as a streamer/influencer do not meet any information requirements, e.g. regarding price information (if applicable with basic prices) or shipping costs. In any case, one should therefore refrain from solutions that integrate the ordering functions or similar directly into the stream or the YouTube page and where doubts could arise among users as to who is the provider of the service and thus contractual partner.

As a streamer/influencer, one should also refrain from misleading information when applying for the affiliate link, both in the video/stream itself as well as in the channel description or video description. In the past, for example, there were claims that the product had been tested beforehand and could be recommended. This is especially true when comparing different products, but in reality no independent product test has taken place.

Of course, one should always also note that at the latest the use of affiliate links usually makes one’s own activity commercial and thus various obligations, from business registration to VAT obligation to the obligation to pay a tax tax return. The amount of revenue is irrelevant. The only decisive factor is whether income is planned on a permanent scale. You can find some information on this topic in this article.

Basically, it is always advisable to use professional help if you are planning to generate revenue as a streamer/influencer.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.