A bill to regulate the profession of influencers has just been adopted by Parliament. The ambitious text will have a significant impact on the way influencers and influencers behave on social networks.
The bill for ” fight against scams and excesses of influencers on social networks was finally adopted. This Thursday, June 1, 2023, the law was unanimously approved by the senators, after being voted on by the deputies on Wednesday, May 31. The two rapporteurs of the text, Arthur Delaporte (Nupes) and Stéphane Vojetta (Renaissance) both congratulated themselves on social networks, explaining their “ great pride “. ” No one will be able to say that they ignore the law. Now on to its application “, announced Arthur Delaporte.
The text will now better frame this profession, still very nebulous, but increasingly popular on social networks and with young people. And always more visible. That’s all the law will change for influencers.
A better framework
A definition of influencer
The text details a wide range of measures, but first seeks to provide a more formal framework for the profession. Influencers are therefore precisely defined as being people “ which mobilize their notoriety to communicate to the public by electronic means content aimed at promoting, directly or indirectly, goods, services “. This promotion is done for a fee “.
Important clarification: the text notes that a minimum amount is required for influencers to be concerned. The people ” are not subject to the provisions set out in […] this article when the remuneration for the activity […] or the total cumulative value of the benefit in kind granted in exchange for it is less than an amount defined by decree in Conseil d’Etat. Clearly: the text establishes a minimum amount of remuneration to achieve the status of influencer. We don’t know that amount yet.
Coaching of the influencer agent
The law will also regulate the profession of influencer agent, whose role is increasingly important: negotiation of the prices of influencer contracts, choice of what will be promoted, etc. From now on, to be an agent, a written contract with the represented person will have to be established. Officers should take steps to avoid ” conflict of interest situations ” And ” ensure business compliance [de l’influenceur] to this law “.
Hardened rules for influencers
Prohibition of certain promotions
As the Public Service sums it up, “ the law now prohibits advertisements promoting :
- of the cosmetic surgery and medicine ;
- of certain financial products and services (in particular concerning crypto-currencies) ;
- therapeutic abstention ;
- of the nicotine pouches ;
- of the subscriptions to advice or sports predictions. »
The law also recalls that influencers must comply with the Evin law, which limits alcohol advertising. However, this advertising is not prohibited.
NFT and crypto-currency promotions possible, under certain conditions
Influencers retain the right to promote financial services, such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, but only under certain conditions. Exempt from the ban are registered advertisers ” under the conditions provided for in Article L. 54-10-3 [du code monétaire et financier] or approved under the conditions provided for in Article L. 54-10-5 of the same code “.
In concrete terms, to be able to promote crypto-currencies, influencers must sign with companies that are registered as PSAN (Digital Asset Service Provider), a status defined by the Pacte law of 2019. To obtain it, the companies must undergo an in-depth review by the AMF.
Promotions for financial products from other advertisers are prohibited.
Report retouched images and promotions
Influencers must specify that their photos have been retouched for slimming purposes if they accompany a promotion. More precisely, ” a modification by any image processing process aimed at refining or thickening the silhouette or modifying the appearance of the face are accompanied by the mention: “Retouched images” “.
One can imagine that it will require influencers to specify if they have used filters on selfies, or if certain shots are retouched with Photoshop or another software.
Promotions should always be “ explicitly indicated by a clear, legible and identifiable mention on the image or the video », and this, during the entirety of the promotion. There was already a requirement for influencers to specify when a post was sponsored, but in many cases it remained misapplied or ignored.
Special clauses for Dubai residents
Many French influencers do not exercise on the national territory, but abroad – in particular Dubai. The city in the Middle East has transformed in a few years into a paradise for content creators, and the remoteness can make you believe that it is possible to circumvent the French rules, without risk and without constraint.
To remedy this, the text indicates that if an influencer “ is not established on the territory of a Member State of the European Union “, he will have to “designate in writing a legal or natural person to ensure a form of legal representation on the territory of the European Union “. This representative should ensure contract compliance “.
Thus, there is no question of trying to circumvent the regulations in force. All commercial contracts must be established with the legal representatives of the influencers if they are not established in the European Union.
Child Protection
Of the “ specific measures protect child influencers “, sums up the Vie Publique site. The law extends the rules codified on child labor by the law of October 19, 2020, to all online platforms, whether Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or Facebook. Concretely,” child commercial influencers will be protected by the labor code which imposes certain limitations. Thus, the parents will have to sign their contracts with advertisers and deposit a share of their income “.
A status of “trusted flagger”
Finally, the status of trusted flagger is established. This status, which is set by Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, can be attributed to several entities. These are entities who have demonstrated that they have particular expertise and competence in the fight against illegal content and that they work in a diligent, precise and objective manner. »
” They can be public entities “, like Europol ” regarding terrorist content “, or non-governmental organizations, and private or semi-public bodies, such as “theorganizations that are part of the INHOPE network of hotlines “. The latter deal with reports for “child pornography material”, or even ” illegal racist and xenophobic expressions online “.
What really changes with this status are the relationships that social networks will have with these entities. So, ” online platform providers take the necessary measures to ensure that reports submitted by trusted flaggers are given priority treatment “. The law establishes a hierarchy of reports, with priority flaggers on certain subjects.
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