Affiliate Disclosure Rules: Denmark, EU and US

Affiliate links are advertising. That sounds obvious, but a lot of affiliate content in Denmark is still written as if it were neutral consumer information with a footnote. The Danish Consumer Ombudsman (Forbrugerombudsmanden) has been specific about what it expects, and since 2024 it has backed that up with police reports. This guide covers the Danish rules first, then the EU framework behind them, then the US rules for sites with American readers.

Denmark: the rule and where it comes from

The rule is in the Marketing Practices Act (markedsføringsloven) § 6, stk. 4: the commercial purpose of any commercial practice, including advertising, must be made clear, unless it is already clear from the context. The law does not prescribe the exact wording; according to the explanatory notes it is up to the business how it discloses the commercial purpose, as long as it is clear. It must also be clear who is advertising.

If the content is aimed at children and young people under 18, the advertising must be very clearly recognisable, and disclosed in a way that audience understands.

How the Consumer Ombudsman says affiliate links should be marked

The Ombudsman has published a decision specifically titled "Affiliate links skulle markeres som reklame" (affiliate links had to be marked as advertising). Its position, in short:

• If a site has an agreement to link to an advertiser, there is a commercial purpose behind the link, and the content must be marked as advertising.
• An affiliate link is marked clearly enough if "Reklamelink" or "Annoncelink" is written clearly above the link or immediately after it.
• It is not enough to put the marking at the end of the text, to label links only with "affiliate-aftale" or "affiliate link", or to say that "the post may contain affiliate links".
• The deciding factor is that readers know a link is advertising before or at the same time as they see it.
• If a site links to a shop on its own initiative, with no commercial agreement behind the link, the content does not need to be marked as advertising.

Two details are easy to miss. First, the words "affiliate link" on their own were explicitly judged insufficient, so the familiar industry term is not a safe label. Second, the timing rule means a disclosure page, footer or end-of-article note cannot fix an unmarked link higher up.

It does not matter that the deal is through a network

In a case about a media company that planned to publish commercial "test" articles with affiliate links, the Ombudsman found that the company broke the ban on hidden commercial intent because the site did not clearly state that it earned commission when consumers clicked and bought. It made no difference whether the commission agreements were made directly with each business or through a third party such as an affiliate network. As long as commission is earned, both the mentions and the links have a commercial purpose.

"Test" means tested

The same case found the site misleading because it used words like "test", "best", "guide" and "overview" in a way that gave the average consumer the impression the products had been tested, when the content was compiled from external sources.

The cases that changed the tone

The Ombudsman described the Obsidian case as a matter of principle and a warning to the marketing industry: companies using affiliate links must make it clear that it is advertising, and must never give the impression of having tested products they never handled.

The EU framework behind the Danish rules

Danish law implements the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). A few parts of it are directly relevant to affiliate publishers anywhere in the EU:

• Annex I, point 11 bans undisclosed advertorials: paid-for promotion presented as editorial content without making the payment clear. Practices on the Annex I list are always unfair.
• The European Commission's 2021 guidance on the UCPD says the rules apply whenever someone receives any form of consideration for promoting a product, explicitly including a percentage from affiliate links. A contract or a direct payment is not required.
• Disclosures should be visible without the consumer having to take extra steps such as clicking "read more", and merely tagging a brand is not enough.
• Since the Omnibus Directive (2019/2161), it is banned to show search results without clearly disclosing paid advertising or payment for higher ranking, and comparison tools must describe the main parameters that decide their ranking. Claiming reviews are genuine without taking reasonable steps to check is also on the blacklist.

The Omnibus rules matter for comparison and "top 10" sites. If a shop pays a higher commission and that affects where it appears in your list, that is a ranking parameter. Explain briefly how your list is ordered, close to the list.

The Commission has announced a Digital Fairness Act for the fourth quarter of 2026, expected to cover, among other things, misleading marketing by social media influencers. It has not been published at the time of writing.

United States: the FTC Endorsement Guides

If your site has American readers, the FTC's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) apply. They were revised in 2023, adding a definition of "clear and conspicuous" and saying that a platform's built-in disclosure tool may not be adequate. The FTC's FAQ for the Guides answers the affiliate questions directly:

• A blogger who reviews products and earns through affiliate links should clearly and conspicuously disclose that.
• Suggested wording: "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post."
• When the affiliate link is embedded in the review, a single disclosure in the review may be adequate, as long as readers can see the disclosure and the link together.
• "Commissionable link" is probably not a clear disclosure.
• A disclosure that is separated from the review and the link, for example on another page, may not be connected by readers.

Separately, the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials took effect on 21 October 2024. It bans buying and selling fake reviews and testimonials and allows the FTC to seek civil penalties against knowing violators. For affiliate publishers the practical point is: never publish invented user reviews or testimonials to make a product look better.

What rel="sponsored" does and does not do

Google asks sites to mark affiliate links with rel="sponsored" (or rel="nofollow"). That is a signal to search engines about the link. It is invisible to readers, so it does nothing for consumer law. You need both: the attribute for Google and a visible label for people. Details in affiliate links and SEO.

A disclosure setup that meets all three

Network terms say the same thing

Both of the main networks in Denmark put this responsibility on you. Partner-Ads' affiliate terms state that content functioning as advertising for an advertiser must be marked as advertising under the Marketing Practices Act. Adtraction's partner agreement makes partners responsible for complying with EU and national law, including how links are presented, and asks partners to tell visitors about their affiliate activity. See our guides to Partner-Ads and Adtraction.

How AffiFeed handles this

AffiFeed's product widgets set rel="nofollow noopener sponsored" on every product link. The visible advertising label is something you should add in your page, right above the widget, in the wording that fits your audience. We would rather say that plainly than suggest a tool can make you compliant on its own.