FTC disclosure and copyright for paid Roblox clips
How to label a paid Roblox clip on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, what the FTC requires, and what Roblox allows for gameplay and music.
Updated ·
In short
- A paid clip is an endorsement with a material connection, so under the FTC Endorsement Guides it must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, in the video itself, not only in the caption.
- Each platform has a switch: TikTok "Disclose commercial content" → "Branded content" (shows "Paid partnership"), Instagram "Add paid partnership label", YouTube "My video contains paid promotion". Use it and still say it in the clip.
- Roblox’s Screen Recording Additional Terms cover recording gameplay and sharing it on and off the platform, and Roblox says videos of games using its licensed music may be posted and monetised on YouTube. Studio footage in a campaign kit is yours to cut for that campaign.
- Music is the usual takedown: a trending song cleared for personal posts is not cleared for a branded post. Use sounds cleared for commercial use or the studio’s own audio.
- MetaClip requires creators to be 18 or over. Under-18s cannot join a campaign on it.
What does the FTC require?
The US Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, apply when there is a material connection between an endorser and a marketer that viewers would not expect. Payment is one; so are free products and affiliate commissions. Being paid per 1,000 views for a clip of a game is a material connection. The FTC’s guidance for influencers says:
- Disclose any financial relationship with the brand; “anything of value” counts, not only cash.
- Put the disclosure with the endorsement where it is “hard to miss”. Disclosures on a profile page, at the end of a post, behind a “more” link or buried among hashtags are likely to be missed.
- In a video, disclose in the video itself, not only in the description. If the endorsement is visual, the disclosure should be at least visual; if spoken, spoken as well.
- “Ad”, “advertisement” and “sponsored” work, with or without a hashtag. “Sp”, “spon”, “collab” and a bare “thanks” do not.
- The rules apply to posts made outside the US when they will reasonably reach US viewers.
- A platform’s own disclosure tool is not enough on its own; use it in addition to your own words.
Sources: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers and The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking. Other countries have their own rules (the UK’s ASA, for one); this page is not legal advice.
How do you label it on each platform?
| Platform | The switch | What viewers see |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | On the post screen, Content disclosure and ads → Disclose commercial content → Branded content; tag the brand partner if asked. Fixed once posted. | “Paid partnership” label on the post. |
| Advanced settings → Add paid partnership label → Add brand partners. Available to professional accounts, which MetaClip needs anyway. Must be set on every branded post. | “Paid partnership” above the post, with the brand name once the brand approves. | |
| YouTube | In video details, Paid promotion → “Yes, my video includes branded content” (or “My video contains paid promotion” on an existing video). | A paid promotion disclosure shown at the start of the video. |
TikTok’s branded content policy also makes the toggle a rule of its own: branded content is anything promoting a third-party brand “in exchange for payment or any other incentive”, you “must enable the commercial content disclosure toggle”, and you stay responsible for any further legal disclosure. YouTube says the same about legal requirements.
Sources: TikTok Branded Content Policy, TikTok’s commercial content disclosure steps, Instagram’s paid partnership tool, YouTube’s paid product placements and endorsements.
What do Roblox’s terms say about recording gameplay?
- Recording: Roblox’s Screen Recording Additional Terms describe features that let eligible users take screenshots and video recordings, “which may include the audio of other Users and of in-experience game play, to share on and off the Platform”, and grant Roblox and the recording user a sublicensable right to reproduce and distribute that recorded content, “including, without limitation, on social media”. The Community Standards apply to anything shared.
- Monetising: Roblox’s article on its licensed music says users and developers may create video captures of experiences using it and post them on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and Facebook, and may “generate revenue through appropriate advertisements” on those videos, subject to the conditions in the article.
- Disclosure inside Roblox’s own creator programme: the Video Stars Program’s transparency rules say “Videos must include disclosures in the video itself (such as on a graphic overlay), not just in the description”, in the same language as the content, and for UK viewers visible before the video is clicked. The same standard works for a campaign clip.
- What stays the developer’s: a game, its art and its sounds belong to its creator under the Terms of Use. A clipping campaign is that creator asking for clips, which is the permission for that game; it is not permission to clip someone else’s.
Sources: Screen Recording Additional Terms, Using Licensed Music in Videos, Roblox Video Stars Program, Roblox Terms of Use and Roblox Community Standards, read 22 October 2026.
What about music?
Two kinds of audio end up in a clip. Music playing inside the game is covered by the Roblox article above when it comes from Roblox’s licensed library; if a copyright claim arrives on YouTube over it, the article describes disputing it. Music you add in the editor is on you: sounds offered for personal posts are usually not cleared for branded content, and a muted or removed clip earns nothing. Pick from the platform’s commercial sound library, use audio the studio supplied, or use the sound the campaign requires when it sets one.
Can you use the studio’s footage?
Yes, for that campaign. Campaign kits carry footage, logos and links the studio uploaded so creators can cut them; a campaign such as ForgeGUI’s on Content Rewards is built on “provided ForgeGUI footage”. The footage is for clips submitted to that campaign, not for other content, and the studio’s requirements say how it may be used, for example that the game name must show on screen. Read the brief before cutting; the views-not-counting guide lists what gets clips rejected.
Who can join?
MetaClip requires creators to be 18 or over, and pays through Stripe Connect or Wise, both of which verify identity. That is MetaClip’s rule, not the platforms’: TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have their own age and monetisation thresholds, and Roblox’s terms apply to its own accounts. If you are under 18, the campaigns on this site are not open to you.
Next: the recording guide covers captions and the disclosure overlay in the edit.
Questions, answered
Do I have to disclose a paid Roblox clip?
Yes, if money or anything of value changed hands and the post reaches US viewers. The FTC’s guidance says disclose any financial relationship with the brand, place the disclosure where it is hard to miss, and put it in the video itself rather than only the description. Pay per view is still pay.
Is #ad enough?
As wording, yes: the FTC lists "ad", "advertisement" and "sponsored" as acceptable and warns against "sp", "spon" and "collab". As placement, only if it is not buried among other hashtags and appears in the video too. The platform’s paid-partnership label counts in addition to, not instead of, your own disclosure.
Is clipping Roblox gameplay copyright infringement?
Roblox’s Screen Recording Additional Terms describe recording and sharing gameplay on and off the platform and grant the recording user rights to the recorded content, and its licensed-music article says such videos may be posted and monetised on YouTube. Individual games and sounds can still be owned by their developers; a campaign is the studio asking you to clip, which settles that for its game.
Can I use a trending sound on a paid clip?
Only if it is cleared for commercial use. Sounds licensed for personal posts are the commonest reason a branded clip is muted or taken down. Use the platform’s commercial sound library, the studio’s audio, or the campaign’s required sound.
Can under-18s join Roblox clipping campaigns?
Not on MetaClip, which requires creators to be 18 or over. Other platforms set their own rules; check them before posting.
