UK FCA: Financial companies and influencers need approval to use emoticons to market products such as cryptocurrency

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued guidance on financial firms and social media influencers using memes to promote investments, aiming to curb fraudulent activities. The FCA said the marketing of all financial products, including those expressed through memes, should be fair, clear and not misleading. The FCA requires financial social media influencers, or “financial influencers,” to obtain approval from an appointed representative of the FCA before posting ads and memes about financial products and services. The move comes in response to the widespread spread of memes in online communities. The FCA said it had removed more than 10,000 misleading adverts about financial services last year. The use of memes in promotional campaigns is particularly common in the cryptocurrency industry, the FCA said. The FCA has seen promotions using memes to promote certain investments in chat rooms such as Reddit and Telegram. They also remind users to be wary of financial promotions in chat rooms and forums. (CNBC)