/compliance-checker

name: compliance-checker
description: >
  Check affiliate content for FTC compliance and platform rules. Triggers on:
  "check my content for compliance", "FTC disclosure check", "is this legal",
  "review for compliance", "check affiliate disclosure", "am I FTC compliant",
  "audit my content", "compliance review", "legal check", "platform rules check",
  "check before publishing", "disclosure audit", "review my ad copy".
license: MIT
version: "1.0.0"
tags: ["affiliate-marketing", "meta", "planning", "compliance", "ftc", "disclosure"]
compatibility: "Claude Code, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenClaw, any AI agent"
metadata:
  author: affitor
  version: "1.0"
  stage: S8-Meta

Compliance Checker

Audit affiliate content for FTC compliance, platform-specific rules, and legal requirements. Checks disclosure placement, prohibited claims, endorsement guidelines, and platform policies. Output is a compliance scorecard with issues, severity, and fix suggestions.

Stage

S8: Meta — The FTC has fined affiliates $4.2M+ for undisclosed endorsements. One missing disclosure can result in legal action, platform bans, or program termination. This skill is the safety net — run it on any content before publishing to catch compliance issues before they become problems.

When to Use

• User wants to check content before publishing
• User asks about FTC rules or affiliate disclosure requirements
• User is unsure if their content is compliant
• User says "is this legal?", "do I need a disclosure?", "check my post"
• User is preparing content for a platform with strict ad policies (Facebook, Google)
• Chaining: run after any S2-S5 or S7 content-producing skill before publishing
• User wants to audit existing published content

Input Schema

content: string                # REQUIRED — the content to check (text, markdown, or HTML)

content_type: string           # REQUIRED — "social_post" | "blog" | "landing_page"
                               # | "email" | "ad" | "video_script"

platform: string               # OPTIONAL — "linkedin" | "twitter" | "reddit" | "facebook"
                               # | "tiktok" | "youtube" | "google_ads" | "pinterest"
                               # Platform-specific rules applied if provided

claims:                        # OPTIONAL — specific claims to verify
  - string                     # e.g., ["earn $10K/month", "guaranteed results"]

**Chaining context**: If content was produced by S2-S5 or S7 in the same conversation, pull it directly. The user should not have to paste content that was just generated.

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Affiliate Links

Scan content for:

• URLs with affiliate parameters (`ref=`, `aff=`, `partner=`, UTM tags)
• Shortened URLs (bit.ly, etc.) that may hide affiliate links
• Product mentions that imply a commercial relationship

Step 2: Check FTC Disclosure

Read `shared/references/ftc-compliance.md` for rules. Check:

• **Presence**: Is there a disclosure? (required if any affiliate link exists)
• **Placement**: Is the disclosure before or near the affiliate link? (not buried at the bottom)
• **Clarity**: Is it clear to a reasonable consumer? ("affiliate link" is clear; "partner" alone is not)
• **Format by content type**:
• Social post: `#ad` or `Affiliate link` visible without expanding
• Blog: Disclosure in the opening paragraph, above the fold
• Landing page: Medium disclosure above the fold
• Email: Disclosure near the affiliate link
• Ad: Platform-specific requirements

Step 3: Check Prohibited Claims

Scan for:

• **Income claims**: "earn $X", "make money fast", "passive income guaranteed"
• **False urgency**: "only 3 left" (if not verifiable), "offer expires" (if no real deadline)
• **Health/medical claims**: unsubstantiated health benefits
• **Guaranteed results**: "guaranteed to work", "100% success rate"
• **Fake scarcity**: "limited spots" (if not actually limited)
• **Fake testimonials**: results that aren't typical without disclaimer

Step 4: Check Platform Rules

If `platform` is provided, apply platform-specific rules:

• **Reddit**: Self-promotion rules (10:1 ratio), must disclose in post
• **Facebook/Instagram**: Branded Content tool, "Paid Partnership" label for ads
• **Google Ads**: Clear commercial intent, no misleading claims, landing page requirements
• **TikTok**: #ad or Paid Partnership toggle, no medical/financial advice claims
• **YouTube**: Verbal + written disclosure in first 30 seconds, "Includes paid promotion" checkbox

Step 5: Score and Report

Rate compliance on three levels:

• **PASS**: No issues found
• **WARN**: Minor issues that should be fixed (e.g., disclosure placement could be better)
• **FAIL**: Critical issues that must be fixed before publishing (e.g., no disclosure at all)

Step 6: Generate Fixes

For each issue, provide:

• What's wrong (specific quote from content)
• Why it matters (rule reference)
• How to fix it (specific replacement text)

Step 7: Self-Validation

Before presenting output, verify:

• [ ] All affiliate links in the content are detected and flagged
• [ ] Disclosure placement check matches platform-specific rules
• [ ] Prohibited claims identified with exact quotes from content
• [ ] Fix suggestions are copy-paste ready and preserve original tone
• [ ] Corrected content would pass a re-scan by this same skill

If any check fails, fix the output before delivering. Do not flag the checklist to the user — just ensure the output passes.

Output Schema

output_schema_version: "1.0.0"  # Semver — bump major on breaking changes
compliance:
  overall_score: string        # "PASS" | "WARN" | "FAIL"
  disclosure_present: boolean
  disclosure_placement: string # "correct" | "needs_improvement" | "missing"
  prohibited_claims: number    # count of issues found
  platform_issues: number      # count of platform-specific issues

issues:
  - severity: string          # "critical" | "warning" | "info"