FORMER MMA FIGHTER Conor McGregor was served with a compliance notice for failing to disclose the commercial nature of content posted on his Instagram relating to Forged Irish Stout.

Consumer watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, found that three separate posts from 2024 relating to Forged Irish Stout did not make it clear it was a paid promotion.

The content was posted on McGregor’s account @thenotoriousmma, which has over 46 million followers.

The inspector said McGregor did not use “appropriate disclosure labels such as ‘Ad’ ‘#ad’” to disclose the commercial nature of  the content.

Failing to disclose that content is a paid promotion is a prohibited commercial practice under the Consumer Protection Act 2007.

A compliance notice is a written legal notice that the CCPC can issue to a trader who has committed or is currently committing a prohibited act or practice. The notice directs the trader to stop a certain practice and obey the law by a certain date. Failure to do so is an offence and can lead to prosecution.

The CCPC instructed McGregor to use clear and appropriate disclosure labels to make it clear that such promotion is a paid promotion in the future, while the inspector recommended McGregor familiarise himself with guidance on influencer advertising and marketing.

“We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the CCPC & ASAI Guidance on Influencer Advertising and Marketing, which provides useful information regarding disclosure language, and the scenarios when such disclosures must be made clear to consumers.”

McGregor was instructed to comply with the notice by 1 January 2026.

Influencer Suzanne Jackson was also served with a compliance notice after being found to have failed to use appropriate labels to disclose the commercial nature of content relating to Sosu Cosmetic published on her Instagram account.

Jackson failed to disclose that products promoted on her Instagram account @sosueme_ie were done so in a paid capacity.

The content was posted on four separate occasions between December 2024 and February 2025.

Jackson was instructed to disclose paid promotional content by using “clear and appropriate primary disclosure labels such as ‘Ad’ or ‘#Ad’” as well as “Using secondary disclosure labels such as ‘Own Brand’ or ‘#OwnBrand’.”

Jackson was instructed to amend the post to make it “clear that the promotions are paid promotions”, the inspector also recommended she familiarise herself with the CCPC and Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland guidance on influencer advertising.

The compliance notices were part of 18 new enforcement actions the CCPC has taken against traders in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Mayo and Offaly for breaches of consumer protection legislation.

The measures are the result of inspections and investigations carried out instore and online by CCPC officers.