LONDON: France is considering making it illegal for influencers to promote dangerous products or services deemed risky to public health via social media platforms.
The French parliament is due to discuss a proposal by a group of MPs aimed at banning the promotion of plastic surgery and drugs, as well as risky financial investments, including cryptocurrencies.
“Influencers have a lot of weight, so they have a lot of responsibility. The rules are not sufficiently respected and they must be reinforced,” French economy chief Bruno Le Maire told French radio.
“There are interesting proposals coming from parliamentarians. We will try to agree on a common text.”
The draft follows a major debate among French politicians over the need to regulate the scandal-plagued industry.
In recent months, the government has pledged to address the issue and create a legal framework for influencers’ activity on social networks.
In a separate proposal, lawmakers focused on developing a legal definition covering influencers, as well as requiring online platforms to implement a “flagging feature” to report content relating to prohibited, aggressive and misleading commercial practices.
The document was reported to also include the establishment of a code of conduct and a legal requirement for influencers living abroad to have legal representation in France.
The text is due in the National Assembly in mid-March and will include the results of a consultation launched by Le Maire in January, which has gathered more than 12,000 contributions.
In recent years, online influencers have prospered as brands have looked to so-called content creators to capture the attention of consumers.
According to the media company Influencer Marketing Hub, more than 50 million individuals worldwide consider themselves to be influencers, with the Middle East home to over 200,000 content producers.
In 2022, the global creator economy was estimated to be worth $104.2 billion.
Along with traditional goods such as apparel items or food articles, content creators promote a host of questionable products and services to millions of followers on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snap, including diet pills, fake music festivals and counterfeit products.
Experts believe that the proposal advanced by French politicians might resonate with EU lawmakers since the bloc in recent months has sought to establish a legal framework for influencers and businesses that work with them.
“This legislation, if successful, could be the inspiration for an EU-wide regulation on the issue,” a spokesperson for international legal practice Osborne Clarke said.
Although the proposal represents one of the first attempts by a European country to better regulate the sector, other states around the world have already taken steps in the same direction.
In October, the Saudi government launched a new licensing system to properly monitor the influencer industry in the country.
Under the system, Saudi and non-Saudi content creators in the Kingdom who earn revenue by advertising on social media must apply for an official three-year permit from the General Commission for Audiovisual Media in order to promote products or services, as long as they do not violate the Kingdom’s laws or values.
Similarly, in the UAE content creators must apply for a permit and cannot promote products or services that are harmful to individuals, such as tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs.
