France approves law to regulate influencers on networks – 01/06/2023 – World

Digital influencers in France can no longer promote products or services considered risky after the Senate unanimously approved this Thursday (1st), a law that regulates the activity in the country.

The text that had the support of 356 senators is a cross-party initiative that seeks to regulate what lawmakers have called the “jungle of influence” and combat excesses of digital platform stars among the approximately 150,000 French influencers, according to government estimates.

The new rule, also unanimously approved by the Chamber, prohibits influencers from promoting products and treatments, such as aesthetic procedures whose prescription is reserved for health professionals.

Advertising betting, investments in cryptocurrencies and other risky financial products is also prohibited, as well as the promotion of tobacco and nicotine products, which are increasingly used by teenagers in the country. The law also prohibits the suggestion of any type of therapeutic interruption and the offer of subscriptions to obtain sports advice, in addition to the promotion of contraband items.

The text also requires that followers of influencers be alerted when exposed to images produced by artificial intelligence or to photos and videos that have gone through correction filters.

“The law is important because it defines a legal regime for the activity of influencers, their agencies and companies that hire them”, he tells the Sheet lawyer Raphael Molina, specialist in influencer marketing law. “The text obliges that agreements between companies, agencies and influencers be made by contract and that these three actors be held accountable if their actions generate victims.”

The sanctions provided for in the law range from fines that can reach €300,000 (R$1.6 million) to sentences of two years in prison. “We have to ensure that digital influencers, who represent jobs and French creativity, are subject to the same rules they are subject to on radio, television and traditional media,” said this week the head of Economy in France, Bruno Le Maire.

In January, the minister launched a public consultation on the subject to “better support and supervise influencers” after the public debate gained traction with legal complaints made by rapper Booba, star of the French music scene, of fraudulent practices by an influencer agency financial.

Months later, the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) pointed out that 6 out of 10 French influencers did not comply with regulatory rules on advertising or respect the rights of consumers. In May, the agency presented the result of a campaign that monitored 50 influencers and concluded that 30 of them had committed infractions. “They were not transparent about the commercial nature of their approach or about the identity of the person on whose behalf they were acting,” said the report that supported 18 administrative sanctions and 16 criminal prosecutions.

The move led companies like Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms, to delete a series of influencer accounts. Among the emblematic cases in France is that of influencer Marc Blata, who lives in Dubai, has 4 million followers on Instagram and promises huge financial returns through investments in NFTs (images with a digital certificate of authenticity). He is the subject of hundreds of fraud allegations and disputes the allegations.

Another example is Dylan Thiry, who participated in a reality show in France, also lives in Dubai and has more than 2 million followers on Instagram. He created the humanitarian organization Para as Nossas Crianças, for which he carried out fundraising campaigns through regular donations, supposedly intended for the construction of water wells and shelters for children in several African countries.

Thiry is accused by associations that help victims of influencers of never having undertaken such constructions. The NGO was shut down, but he claims the money was used to help people in Africa.

The new French law also brings obligations to digital platforms, in line with the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU law to regulate digital media. Among them is the implementation of alert buttons and the necessary means to quickly remove content denounced by the authorities. Networks also need to prioritize alerts from so-called “trust flags”, consumer associations or associations of victims of influence accredited by the Ministry of Economy.

Influencers residing outside French territory, but who address the public in France, under the new law, must set up local representatives who can be subject to the country’s legislation.

According to the terms of the law, the State will have to carry out awareness campaigns in schools about the abuses of influencers and present a report, within six months after the enactment of the law, on the resources available to the DGCCRF to fight the fraud promoted by them.

The law defines an influencer as any person “who uses their reputation to communicate content to the public by electronic means with a view to promoting, directly or indirectly, goods, services or a cause of any kind in exchange for an economic benefit or an advantage of another species”.

An open letter published by the Union of Influencers and Content Creators (UMICC) in Le Journal du Dimanche, signed by more than 100 people, states that “in recent months, some have led to the belief that fraud, smuggled products and commercial practices doubts represented the sector, when, in reality, they only represent a minority” and that UMICC’s priority “is the protection of consumers and our communities”. “We are in favor of regulating the sector.”

For Molina, “the legislation is welcome for most of the actors involved in this market”. “Most companies and professionals already comply with the laws, and the regulation will allow the professionalization of the sector and guide companies to agents and influencers who act legally.”