Restriction of advertising, formal contract: how France intends to frame influencers

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The bill provides for prohibiting the disclosure of alcoholic beverages, aesthetic procedures and financial operations, especially with cryptocurrencies. Other rules for content creators are under review. Restriction of advertising, formal contract: how France will frame influencers Unsprah/Social Cut The profession of digital influencer will be subject to new regulations in France, the first European country to legislate the sector. Starting this week, the French Parliament is analyzing a bill that provides for more supervision of the performance of social media professionals, including sanctions for cases of misleading advertising. The text builds on existing documents on modeling and includes restrictions already applied to advertising. Promoting alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, but also aesthetic procedures and financial operations, especially with cryptocurrencies, will be prohibited. The influencer will no longer be able to give tips and implied praise to products without making it clear, in writing, that the post is about advertising. In addition, you must inform whether you used a filter or other type of retouching on the image when addressing topics related to beauty. The project consolidates the profession of influencer in the country: “a natural or moral person who uses his or her reputation to communicate to the public, via electronic means, content aimed at promoting, directly or indirectly, goods, services or a cause, in return , economic profits or advantages of another nature”. Thus, the text aims to impose the existence of a formal contract between the influencer and the advertiser, in which the obligations and rights of the “talent” and the contractor are specified, as well as the remuneration for the service. Those under 16 years of age must apply for authorization from the State to work on digital platforms, and 90% of the income obtained will be withheld until the children and adolescents come of age. Overregulation? For economist Nathalie Janson, associate professor of Finance at Neoma Business School in Rouen, Paris is too quick to regulate an activity that is still in development. “We already have a legal framework on misleading advertising and I think we are infantilizing users. I do not deny that there are abuses and people are deceived, especially in a new sector like this and that, as in any novelty, there are those with bad intentions. But I think it would be preferable to facilitate victims’ access to justice, with the existing legal basis, and access to eventual compensations than to make a whole new regulation”, she evaluates. The government estimates that the new legislation will reach around 150,000 people cataloged as active influencers targeting the French public – including those residing in other countries. “It seems a bit surreal to me in relation to the ocean of possibilities for activities that this law refers to. We know we’re moving into a very open world where borders don’t exist,” observes Janson. “With web 3, we are in a world that completely goes beyond territorial concepts, and we apply old recipes.” The vast majority of French influencers, 80%, practice this activity as a hobby, earning up to €4,000 a year. But the others, who have at least 1 million followers, manage to pocket up to €10,000 with a single video of a few seconds. It’s been a few years since brands can no longer ignore the power of influencers and are willing to pay ever-increasing sums for a post. According to Statista, a consultancy specializing in data, the world market for the sector should more than double in two years, reaching €38 billion in 2025. European framework The new French law adds to the European regulation of digital services, which came into force in November 2022 and stipulates that influencers are required to notify followers when posts include paid advertising. Since 2018, producers of audiovisual content on channels like YouTube were already subject to the European directive that frames unfair commercial practices and imposes restrictions on advertising that addresses topics related to health, medication, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, gambling and security, among others. others. In Nathalie Janson’s view, what she considers an excess of framing could hinder the emergence and rise of new influencers. “That’s the nasty part about these many layers of regulation. I think France launches regulation very quickly, a reflection of a paternalistic view of the country, which wants to protect its citizens, but cares less about teaching them how to protect themselves, ”she says. The bill, proposed by a deputy allied with President Emmanuel Macron and one of the left-wing opposition, easily passed through the analysis of committees in the Assembly and should be approved without major mishaps. The text provides for sanctions that can reach two years in prison and a fine of €30,000. ALSO READ: Musk and hundreds of experts call for a break in advancing systems with artificial intelligence Google announces ad transparency tool for users Is signing a document with apps allowed in Brazil? Understand

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