France is trying to tighten the reins
A possible toughening of the law, a fraud complaint, a draft professional framework: At the center of many controversies in France is growing pressure to regulate the sector of social media influencers, male and female sandwich stars.
Presenting the joint bill on Tuesday, MPs Arthur Delaport (PS) and Stefan Vojetta (Renaissance) insisted the challenge was “regulating the jungle” and “ending the legal vacuum”.
Among other things, it plans to create a legal status for influencers and prohibit them from promoting certain products (medicines, financial investments, etc.).
The text will be examined in the Assembly until the end of March.
On Monday, it was a collective called AVI (Aid to Influencer Victims) that announced the launch of legal action against dozens of people, specifically “fraud” and “breach of trust”.
They believe they were duped into investing in financial products promoted by famous influencers, including the couple Marc and Nadé Blata.
billions
The announcements come just months after the start of a high-profile conflict that threw the sector into turmoil last year: it pitted rapper Booba against Magali Berdah, the boss of mega-influencer agency Shauna Events.
The former criticizes the latter for encouraging fraud (undeliverable goods, substandard products, etc.); in return, he accuses her of cyberstalking. The court started two investigations.
In the process, the government initiated a series of meetings in December and launched a public consultation with the aim of better regulating the practices. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire will announce any decisions by March.
These controversies have allowed the general public to re-discover the concept of “influencer”, people who spread content on their social networks and whose opinions can influence the consumption patterns of their subscribers.
The biggest ones are stars and have millions of subscribers on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.
An advertising vector that doesn’t shy away from brands: so-called “influencer marketing,” the premium paid by influencers to promote their products, has exploded in recent years.
In 2021, it represented a global market valued at around 12 billion euros, a simple publication on social networks can earn the biggest influencers tens of thousands of euros.
“Paid Friends”
On Monday, the Fraud Enforcement Directorate (DGCCRF) published a damning investigation into the sector’s commercial practices.
More than 60 agencies and 60% of influencers targeted since 2021 did not comply with advertising and consumer rights regulations.
According to the DGCCRF, deception on the menu, in the products sold, the promotion of risky sports betting, even injections “by beauticians and non-health professionals”.
Faced with these controversies, agencies specializing in relationships between brands and influencers announced on January 18 the creation of the first professional federation, Umicc (Union of Influencer Professions and Content Creators).
It intends to impose rules on its members, including the obligation to have tax residency in France for agencies and in the European Union for content creators.
This would effectively exclude celebrities operating in Dubai, a tax-efficient residence popular with influencers.
For media economist Olivier Bomsel, the relevance is to give influencers “publisher status”, removing uncertainty about their relationship with the public.
“You have to treat them like billboards,” he told AFP. “It’s important to show that they’re commercial, not free friends. They’re paid and paid friends.”
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