Faced with the fears of influencers, Bruno Le Maire promises to clarify the law (AFP/Archives/Olivier DOULIERY)
Bruno Le Maire promised to clarify the law regulating commercial influence adopted in June, as well as to set up a “working group” to respond to the fears of 130 content creators gathered Thursday in Issy-les-Moulineaux ( Hauts-de-Seine).
“The objective of the law is not to ‘annoy’ you but to support you and protect you”, the Minister of the Economy and Finance told them, estimating that if it “leads to more complexity”, it would be “bad law”.
“I propose that we set up a permanent working group” and “that we write together a guide to good practices which gives very concrete and practical advice to influencers”, declared the Minister of Economy and Finance during this event organized by Umicc, the professional federation of the world of influence.
A desire for dialogue which reassures the president of Umicc Carine Fernandez, after two hours of exchanges filled with misunderstandings between influencers and ministry agents present in the room.
“We all want to respect the law here, but it has become apparent” that Bercy’s services “cannot provide us with a clear answer for the moment on cases which, for us, are everyday cases” , she lamented, particularly with regard to how to report a commercial collaboration in a publication.
“We have a lot of questions to which we don’t necessarily have the answers,” insisted Marie Lopez aka EnjoyPhoenix, who has 6.3 million subscribers on Instagram.
Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire leaving the Elysée, September 20, 2023 in Paris (AFP/Ludovic MARIN)
The content creator and member of the Umicc executive council said she was worried about “making a mistake unintentionally and being outside the law” if, for example, she promotes her own brand without mentioning a commercial collaboration.
For Océane Blanchet, it is also the “fuzziness” that reigns. The one who posts book reviews under the pseudonym Oceadorable on Instagram and Tiktok “receives 4 to 10 books per day” and still doesn’t know if she should declare gifts she didn’t ask for.
“Since June, I have the impression that people are trying to punish us and control us,” she said, while recognizing that it was “a difficult environment to regulate”.
“It is imperative that we correct the situation,” replied Bruno Le Maire, promising a new meeting with the influencers in six months.
© 2023 AFP
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