Reinforcement of sanctions, new prohibitions: after the National Assembly, the Senate unanimously approved in first reading a bill aimed at better regulating the activity of influencers and combating abuses on social networks.
With an estimated 150,000 influencers in France, of which only 15% would carry out this activity full-time, this booming sector is being targeted by associations, but also by the government.
For SMEs Minister Olivia Grégoire, the bill “fills a legal vacuum” and responds to “a popular demand for better regulation.”
Practices considered problematic
Having become millions of subscribers for some of the stars, influencers spread content on social networks that can greatly influence behavior, especially among the youngest.
The General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) has published a damning study on its practices. Rapper Booba also served as a sounding board by attacking the high priestess of influencers Magali Berdah, who called him a “stalker”.
The influencer was heard by the rapporteur for the text in the Senate, Amel Gacquerre (centrist), the rapper having indicated for his part that he would not go to the Luxembourg Palace.
The Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, for his part, announced last week that Bercy would make public “in the next few days” the names of the influencers, some thirty, “who have not respected the rules” already in force.
reinforced sanctions
The senators have reinforced the penalties if the advertising prohibitions are not respected or if an influencer hides the true commercial intention of his publication: up to two years in prison (instead of the 6 months of the text voted by the deputies) and a fine of 300,000 euros .
It has been established that influencers have the obligation to display the unique mention “Advertising” in their commercial publications.
To the prohibitions planned by the MEPs, such as the promotion of cosmetic surgery, they added, at the rapporteur’s initiative, the prohibition of the promotion of therapeutic abstention, nicotine packets, whose sale on the Internet is developing among adolescents, or subscriptions to sports betting forecasts.
They also want to force influencers promoting the game to display a notice: “No people under 18.”
Against government advice, an amendment by Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio (LR) was also voted to ban any promotion on social media “that undermines the protection of public health.” And another by Arnaud Bazin (LR) to prohibit influencers from performing with animals whose possession as pets is prohibited in France.
But just like in the Assembly, left-wing amendments to ban the promotion of gambling and betting, alcoholic beverages or food products that are too fatty, salty or sweet have been rejected. “Be careful not to stigmatize influencers,” warned the speaker.
The senators have also eliminated with the consent of the minister the prohibition, torn from a high dispute in the Assembly, for minors under sixteen to promote this type of food. The environmentalist Daniel Salmon lamented a “refusal of obstacles” by the senatorial majority on certain points, while the socialist Rémi Cardon hoped “to go much further.”
Source: BFM TV
