The government draws up a plan to regulate the practice of influencers


Qualified for “Digital Wild West” by Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, the “business” of influencers is about to be supervised. The sheriff of Bercy presented, this Friday, March 24, the government’s plan to regulate the practice. The legislators relied on the results of a public consultation on the professions of influence, launched last January, before presenting this work.

“This work allowed for three months to better define the points of attention and the expectations of each of the stakeholders.the ministry said. More than 400 participants took part in eight round tables and 40 professionals were interviewed in bilateral meetings. The objective was clear: better support influencers and better protect consumers through concrete measures.”.

A legal definition of the profession

The legislator first wanted to legally define the profession of influencer, in order to give it legal recognition. This type of activity will be registered in the consumer code, and a status “commercial influence activity” will therefore be created, applying to all influencers, even those based abroad. A definition that will also allow influencers to be treated like any other merchant: in the event of fraud, they will be exposed, for example, to the temporary or permanent closure of their accounts on social networks.

Bercy also intends to protect consumers by regulating the promotion of certain products and services, through the application of the same rules on the Web as in traditional media, in particular cosmetic surgery, health procedures, alcoholic beverages, financial products , or sports betting. Written contracts will also be systematically required in relations between brands and influencers.

The ministry is also announcing the immediate implementation of a “social media police”. Within the repression of fraud, a team will be responsible for responding to reports from Internet users and for enforcing these new rules.

Beauty filters also in the viewfinder of Bercy

Finally, and this is perhaps the most astonishing measure, influencers will be required to mention the use of a filter or retouching in their content, and this “in order to avoid destructive psychological effects of the edited content”. An interesting idea as the subject is increasingly present in the news, from the Facebook Papers, which denounce the psychological effects of Instagram on adolescents, to the new ultra-realistic beauty filters that abound on TikTok.



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