Module 22 · Level 3 · Marketer

Legal & Ethical Social Media

ASA and CMA disclosure rules, copyright and music licensing, GDPR basics and accessibility — the rules UK professionals must know.

6 lessons · about 1 hours

Overview · 1:14 · captions on
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Is that post an ad? In the UK, there's a test. Module 22 is the rules professionals have to know.

The ASA, the CMA, copyright, music, data, accessibility, competitions. The fines are real and so are the takedowns. This module is the UK rulebook, written for people who post, not for lawyers.

Lesson 1 is the ASA's disclosure rules: the two-part test that makes a post an ad. Lesson 2 is consumer law, the CMA and the DMCC Act. Lesson 3 is copyright, music and other people's content. Lesson 4 is UK GDPR and PECR for social marketers. Lesson 5 is accessible content. And lesson 6 is running a compliant UK competition.

Take what the CMA can fine a business for breaking consumer law. It's on screen now, with the date we last checked it. Every rule in this module is verified weekly against the regulators' own guidance.

By the end, you can label an ad correctly, use music and other people's content without a strike, and run a giveaway that's actually legal.

6 lessons. About 60 minutes. Level 3, module 22. Start with When Content Is an Ad: The ASA Disclosure Rules.

What’s inside

  1. 01
    When Content Is an Ad: The ASA Disclosure Rules

    The two-part test that makes a post an ad under the CAP Code, how to label it properly, and what ASA sanctions actually look like. · 10 min

  2. 02
    Consumer Law: The CMA and the DMCC Act

    How the Competition and Markets Authority's statutory powers differ from ASA self-regulation — hidden advertising, fake reviews and the duties they create. · 10 min

  3. 03
    Copyright, Music and Other People's Content

    Why a business account cannot use the sound a consumer can, how to repost UGC safely, and what stock and AI image licences really permit. · 11 min

  4. 04
    UK GDPR and PECR for Social Marketers

    Lawful basis, consent for DMs and email capture, competition entrant data, pixels and cookies, retention and data-subject requests — the data rules that actually bite in social. · 11 min

  5. 05
    Accessible Social Content

    Alt text, captions, CamelCase hashtags, contrast and plain language — the practices that widen reach and the business case that gets them approved. · 9 min

  6. 06
    Running Compliant UK Competitions

    The lottery-law line between prize draws and skill competitions, the terms the CAP Code makes mandatory, and the traps that void a giveaway. · 10 min

Where this sits on your path depends on your assessment. Some people skip this module outright; others start here. The free placement assessment decides — and the first lesson of every module is free to read. Find your level →

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