Several bills on the subject of influencers have already been tabled in recent months by different parties. The PS and Renaissance have managed to agree to speed up the procedure.
Imposing rules on influencers has been the workhorse of some politicians for several months. Ecologist and socialist deputies have in turn tabled their bill, without managing to go through with their idea. But never two without three: a new bill, this time on the initiative of the PS and Renaissance, has been tabled.
According to information from NextInpact, the group of the presidential majority agreed to co-sign a new text carried by Arthur Delaporte, socialist deputy at the origin of one of the first texts. The text will be on the agenda at the end of March and should benefit from an accelerated procedure in order to be adopted more quickly.
Framing influencer status
The primary objective of this bill is above all to create an influencer status in the consumer code. At the moment at the draft stage, a first definition of the status has already been considered.
“Any natural or legal person who, for consideration or in exchange for a benefit in kind, produces and distributes by means of electronic communication content which aims, when expressing his personality, to promote goods, services, or any cause”, would specify the first article of the law.
And it’s not just influencers who would be framed, but also their agents. Arthur Delaporte told NextInpact that the second article of the law would create an “influencer agent” status. Influencers based abroad, particularly in Dubai, with a majority French audience, would be required to appoint a legal representative on French territory.
Empower platforms
If officially, influencers are already required to indicate when content is sponsored, the practice does not always follow. With the future law, influencers would have the obligation to indicate when content is part of the partnership. Stéphane Vojetta, deputy also at the initiative of the bill, especially wants the platforms to take their responsibilities, in particular by allowing the reporting of illicit publications by influencers.
Dropshipping is also covered by the bill. A common practice among influencers, dropshipping consists of reselling an often low-end product at a much higher price. To combat this phenomenon, MEPs want influencers to indicate the supplier of the products on offer. Certain products and services will also be banned from promotion by influencers, such as alcohol, sports betting, and health and cosmetic surgery devices.
The Ministry of the Economy, for its part, launched a consultation on the profession of influencers a few weeks ago. The results of this consultation should be unveiled in the coming days.
