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Thirty states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have settled with the app Cameo over its failure to properly disclose that certain videos produced at the company were paid endorsements.
Cameo lets customers request personalized video messages from celebrities on its platform for a fixed fee. But it also operates an offshoot, Business Cameo, for companies to pay celebrities to promote their products.
State attorneys general found that Cameo violated Federal Trade Commission regulations by failing to properly label videos made through Business Cameo as paid advertisements. Instead, the prosecutors say, consumers saw multiple clips of celebrities offering positive product reviews, seemingly without any financial motive.
Pennsylvania A.G. Michelle Henry said Baron, Inc., Cameo’s parent company, also violated state consumer protection laws.
Under the terms of the settlement, Cameo must set up and maintain guardrails to ensure its clients comply with FTC and state regulations. Paid advertisements will run with watermarks, and celebrities on the platform will acknowledge and disclose sponsored videos. Cameo must also monitor these videos from compliance and report any that violate relevant laws.
This isn’t the first time Cameo has made headlines in Pennsylvania. Sen. John Fetterman purchased a video of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of “Jersey Shore” fame wishing Dr. Mehmet Oz, his Republican opponent in the 2022 election, luck on his move from New Jersey to Pennsylvania “to look for a new job.” The Cameo clip was a dig at Oz’s longtime residence in Cliffside Park. Fetterman ultimately defeated the TV personality by about 228,000 votes.
Similarly, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in 2020 was duped into recording a message that urged a Montana gubernatorial candidate’s opponent, Greg Gianforte, to move back to New Jersey.
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