On the front line against the excesses of “influencers”, the repression of fraud lacks resources

The figures are striking: out of around sixty influencers targeted by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) since 2021, 60% did not comply with the legislation in force in terms of advertising, according to a press release published by the administrative authority on January 23. A way, for the DGCCRF, to communicate on the priority given to the regulation of the practices of the actors of the digital economy, which appears under its program of investigation 2022. And on the subject of the excesses of the influencers, very often in the news in recent months, and which is the subject of a bill by deputy (PS, Calvados) Arthur Delaporte which was to be examined on Thursday February 9. A debate postponed for lack of time, but the proposals of the elected must be taken up at the end of March in a joint text with Stéphane Vojetta (Renaissance, French from abroad).

Beyond this timely communication, the institution qualifies: the figures come from a panel of influencers already on the authorities’ radars. However, these 60 cases are probably only the tip of an iceberg of abuse by influencers big and small. From YouTubers to Twitch streamers, Instagram muses or tiktokers, there are up to 150,000 “content creators” in France., according to the estimates of the professional advertising regulatory authority (ARPP), some of which seek to make a profession of their visibility on social networks in the service of brands fond of this new promotional medium, for the moment very few framed.

Controversial or even illegal practices

Food supplements, “slimming” programs, cosmetics, online betting or cryptocurrencies, the DGCCRF notes, for each sector using influence marketing, the same flaws, which come either from the content creator, who does not always report the advertising nature its message, or the products it promotes, the quality of which may be questionable. When it is not a matter of controversial practices, such as cosmetic surgery operations (injections, etc.) which can be dangerous when they are not performed by competent professionals; even illegal, such as personal training account scams, which have flourished in recent years.

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“It is the means used that change, the rest are often quite old practices”, notes Roland Girerd, from the Solidaires-DGCCRF union. Beyond real scams or the promotion of dangerous products, which are the responsibility of the police and the justice system, the DGCCRF focuses on regulating more benign practices, such as the fact that an influencer does not report that his content is actually sponsored by a brand. “We have established a doctrine, in conjunction with the Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority [ARPP] : the influencer must indicate, in French, that he is advertising, and use clear words, such as “commercial partnership””explains the magistrate Guillaume Daieff, who attended, as deputy director of the DGCCRF from 2020 to 2022, the rise of the phenomenon.

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