To combat the abuses of some stars of social networks, between accusations of fraud and promotion of dangerous remedies, the French Parliament approved on June 1 a law to regulate the “jungle” of the ‘influencers’.
“The law of the jungle is over,” said Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte. The text “will protect consumers, especially the youngest,” promised a representative of Renaissance, the ruling bloc, Stéphane Vojetta. The text was adopted by the lower house on Wednesday and unanimously ratified in the Senate.
Part of the 150,000 “influencers” in France have been the object of criticism and even collective complaints. Companies such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram parent company) have eliminated several ‘influencers’ accounts, such as that of the Blata couple, investigated for an alleged large-scale scam.
The law proposes to legally define influencers, prohibits the promotion of practices such as cosmetic surgery, and prohibits or limits the promotion of various medical devices. In addition, the ‘influencers’ will not be able to promote subscriptions to sports pools and the promotion of games of chance will be limited to platforms with technical means to prevent minors from accessing the videos.
The penalties provided for infringement are up to two years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros (about 322,000 dollars / 5.57 million Mexican pesos). The law also prohibits the use of animals that are illegal to possess in publications. It should also be indicated if the photos have been technologically modified.
Taking into account that many successful French “influencers” work from abroad (in Dubai, for example), the text wants to force those who operate from outside the European Union (EU), Switzerland or the European economic area to take out civil insurance within the Union. Thus, it is intended to create a fund to compensate potential victims. In addition, these ‘influencers’ must appoint a legal representative in the European Union.
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