French parliament passes bill to regulate ‘jungle’ of social media influencers

Issuance of: 2023/02/06 – 07:58

The House of Commons National Assembly gave the green light late Wednesday to a bill proposed by members of the Socialist Party and the Renaissance faction of President Emmanuel Macron, with wide-partisan support, in the current tense political climate in France. That’s very unusual.

The right-wing Senate voted in favor on Thursday afternoon.

consumer protection

Arthur Delaporte of the Socialist Party, who co-sponsored the bill, said jointly with Stefan Vojetta of the Renaissance Party that “the law of the jungle is over” and that the text “protects consumers, especially the youngest consumers”. said it would be.

While many influencers don’t have a large audience, some stars with millions of subscribers can influence consumer behavior, especially among young people.

The bill aims to define the status of influencers as legal entities that use their reputation to promote products and services.

The law prohibits the promotion of certain practices, such as cosmetic surgery, and prohibits or strongly restricts the promotion of some medical devices.

Sports betting and games of chance are also covered. Influencers will no longer be able to advertise subscriptions to sports prediction services, and promotion of luck games will be limited to platforms that can bar access to minors.

Violators can face up to two years in prison and a fine of €300,000.

At the end of March, a coalition of influencers and content creators, recently formed to represent stakeholders in the space, welcomed the “commendable and substantive proposal.” But he cautioned lawmakers about the risk of “discriminating or over-regulating” certain players.

(-AFP)