Abner Li, reporting for 9to5Google:

It should have been clear from the start that Team Pixel is an influencer marketing program. With the launch of the Pixel 9 series this week, that is being made explicit.

Ahead of the new devices, those in the Team Pixel program this week have been asked to “acknowledge that you are expected to feature the Google Pixel device in place of any competitor mobile devices.” 9to5Google has confirmed the veracity of that form.

The application form for Team Pixel, Google’s Pixel influencer marketing program, reads:

Please note that if it appears other brands are being preferred over the Pixel, we will need to cease the relationship between the brand and the creator.

Google distributes pre-launch units in one of three ways: corporate review units, where the only agreement is an embargo set for a specific date and time; Team Pixel marketing, where historically creators would only have to disclose they got the phone for free via the hashtag #GiftFromGoogle or #TeamPixel, per the Federal Trade Commission’s influencer marketing guidelines; or straight-up fully sponsored advertisements which are to be disclosed as any other ad integrations on the internet. Team Pixel, notably, historically has never even requested influencers part of the program speak favorably about the products. The controversy now is that it requests favorable coverage from all Team Pixel “ambassadors” while not disclosing the videos as advertisements.

“#GiftByGoogle” is an acceptable hashtag for when Google only provides free phones. But now, Google is actively controlling editorial coverage, which, per the FTC’s rules, is different from simply receiving a free product:

For example, if an app developer gave you their 99-cent app for free for you to review it, that information might not have much effect on the weight that readers give to your review. But if the app developer also gave you $100, knowledge of that payment would have a much greater effect on that weight. So a disclosure that simply said you got the app for free wouldn’t be good enough, but, as discussed above, you don’t have to disclose exactly how much you were paid.

This new clause in the Team Pixel agreement makes it so that there is functionally no difference between Team Pixel and fully sponsored advertising. I think Google should scrap the Team Pixel program to avoid any further confusion because Team Pixel has never been full-blown advertising, but marketing content that has historically been impartial. Google shouldn’t have changed this agreement, and its doing so is in bad faith because it appears as if it wants to build on the trust and reputation of the Team Pixel brand while also dictating editorial content. Google, as of now, only requires Team Pixel creators to attach “#GiftFromGoogle” to their posts, not “#ad,” even though the content is fully controlled by Google.

Team Pixel is no longer a review program if it ever was construed as one. It’s an advertising program.

Update, August 16, 2024: Google has removed this language from the Team Pixel contract. I have no clue why it was added in the first place. From Google:

#TeamPixel is a distinct program, separate from our press and creator reviews programs. The goal of #TeamPixel is to get Pixel devices into the hands of content creators, not press and tech reviewers. We missed the mark with this new language that appeared in the #TeamPixel form yesterday, and it has been removed.