How to frame influencers? Scams, dropshipping, misleading advertising or undeclared product placement… Some social media stars are regularly singled out for their excesses.
Little by little, public authorities are taking over the issue. Bercy presents this Monday the conclusions of an important consultation organized in January. A multi-party bill, which is also making its way through the Assembly, notably envisions banning influencers from promoting certain products.
The founder of the influencer agency Shauna Events is at the center of the debate around the supervision of the profession, after being targeted by the rapper Booba who has made the fight against “influencers” his battle horse.
With Tech&Co, the one that founded the Federation of Influencers and Content Creators (FICC) details its recommendations to supervise the influence sector.
Create a legal definition of the profession.
Magali Berdah begins by recalling a reality often forgotten: “Today we cannot regulate the profession of influencer, because it does not exist!”. Indeed, there is no law that allows grouping “influencers” into the same professional and legal category, and distinguishing them from other similar professions (model, performer, etc.).
“The first thing to do is create this state.” Magali Berdah also calls for “trainings” to be set up to put all influencers on an equal footing in terms of knowledge of the rules.
Hence the importance of “continuing” training. “There are many influencers who want to do things well, to learn, and I think we have to reach out to them,” said Magali Berdah.
Create a dedicated regulatory authority
Today, the regulation of influencers is shared among a multitude of authorities: DGCCRF, General Directorate of Labor, AMF… Without forgetting professional regulatory bodies such as the Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (ARPP). But some suffer from a cruel lack of dedicated resources, as reported. The world.
For this reason, Magali Berdah believes that “we must create an authority of influencers. Either independent or a department within the ARPP, but it must be targeted”.
“Unlike a model used by a brand, an influencer is free. This freedom must be preserved because it is the nature of their work, but it must also be supervised to guarantee the correct application of the rules”, explains Magali Berdah. . But this regulation should not be done by excluding certain parts of the world from influence, according to her.
An allusion to another professional federation launched in January 2023, the Union of Influencing Professions and Content Creators, which wants to regulate the sector but automatically excludes creators whose tax residence is not in Europe.
Are the bills currently being considered moving in the right direction? “These initiatives are fundamental”, estimates Magali Berdah, who points out, however, that “they are a little late, but better late than never”. The businessman was able to discuss it directly with the deputies who carry out these various projects: Aurélien Taché, Stéphane Vojetta and Arthur Delaporte. “I think it’s good to listen to the people on the ground and listen to everyone, to come up with the best law possible.”
Source: BFM TV
