Millie Bracewell TikTok posts trivialised cosmetic surgery - ASA

A TikToker's posts about cosmetic surgery were not identified as ads and deemed irresponsible as they "trivialised" the decision to have procedures, a watchdog has ruled.

Four videos by Millie Bracewell, of Blackpool, about her surgery at the Erdem Clinic in Istanbul, Turkey, in August 2023, were investigated.

The influencer who has 1.7m followers included a 20% discount code in one.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled the ads must not appear again.

Ms Bracewell became a TikTok sensation when she was 16 after a track she wrote 'M to the B' was picked up by a US influencer Bella Poarch.

The music clip has been watched almost half a billion times on the social media platform.

Ms Bracewell previously spoke to the BBC about how it became a viral hit, and how she hoped it would open doors in the music industry.

The ASA upheld the posts were not identifiable as marketing communications, they were irresponsible because they trivialised the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery highlighting one video featuring soundbites from the Barbie film, and said the videos had taken "insufficient care" to ensure the ad was not directed at people under 18.

One post about her breast augmentation contained "click the link in my bio to get 20% off any surgery/treatment using the code millieb".

The authority said the ads must not appear again in their current form and told Erdem Clinic and Ms Bracewell to ensure future ads were "obviously identifiable" as marketing communications by including identifiers such as "#ad" that were "prominently displayed".

The ASA also told both the TikToker and the clinic to ensure ads were "socially responsible, did not trivialise the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery, and were appropriately targeted".

Ms Bracewell told the ASA the posts were not ads and she was "simply vlogging her journey". She added she had not received payment from the clinic.

She also said she would never promote that type of content to under 18s and her audience was primarily adults.

She provided her audience age analytics but there was no available data on followers below the age of 18, the ASA said.

The clinic, which did not respond to the ASA's inquiries breaching a UK code, has been referred to its compliance team.

The advertising watchdog said TikTok confirmed the posts under investigation were not marketed, sold or arranged by the company behind the social video app.

It said under its terms of service and branded content policy, users were required to use a disclosure tool to identify marketing communication, the ASA said.

TikTok stated the promotion of cosmetic surgery was prohibited so if Ms Bracewell had used the tool, the posts would have been rejected.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]