Where must the imprint appear?

The imprint must be included as a part of the material, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

Whether it is reasonably practicable to include the imprint as part of the material depends on the technical capability of the platform on which the material is published.

It does not depend on, for example, whether including an imprint will affect:

  • your preferences about the design or appearance of the material
  • how effective you think the material will be
  • how much time it will take to publish the material

If the imprint is included as a part of the material, it must be included in such a way that if the material is shared as it is, the imprint will still be a part of it.

For example, if the material is a picture and contains an imprint, then if the picture is shared unaltered, the imprint will still appear.

Example voting tweet which reads “Jane Doe is the one for Engleston. Go to www.janeforengleston.org.uk to find out more. #VoteJaneDoe”. There is an image accompanying the tweet which reads “Vote. Vote Jane Doe for the Grey Party”. There is an imprint in the bottom right-hand corner that reads “Promoted by the Engleston Grey Party on behalf of Jane Doe, both of 110 High Street, Engleston, AB12 3CD”.

If it is not reasonably practicable to include the imprint as a part of the material, then the imprint must appear somewhere directly accessible from the material. In practice, this means it can be reached via a direct link, usually one click or equivalent, where both the link and the imprint are easy for a voter to locate.

If the imprint appears somewhere directly accessible from the material, it must be included in such a way that it if the material is shared as it is, the imprint will still be accessible from the shared material.

For example, if the material is a tweet, and the imprint is included in your Twitter bio, then if the material is retweeted, the imprint in your bio will still be accessible from the retweet.

This means that you must not delete the imprint from your bio for as long as an imprint is required and the material remains published. If you were to delete the imprint, then it would no longer be accessible if your material is shared.

Similarly, you cannot include your imprint somewhere which would not be accessible by those who can view the material itself.

For example, the imprint cannot be behind a paywall or otherwise protected area of the internet, if that would mean that voters would see the shared material but would not have the necessary permission to view the imprint itself.

Beyond these requirements, the original promoter of the material is not liable for any imprint offences that are due to the material being shared by other people later on. The liability is on the people republishing the material – see Sharing and republishing.

If the imprint is included somewhere directly accessible from the material, it must be clear that the imprint relates to the material. For example, it would not be acceptable to publish a list of different imprints in one location, directly accessible from lots of different material, without it being clear which imprint relates to which material.

The next sections give some detailed guidance on particular types or categories of digital material, and on what is typically reasonably practicable.

Last updated: 2 November 2023