Lawmakers in France unanimously approved a bill to regulate paid social media influencers and thereby combat different types of fraud, officials said Thursday.
The French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty reported in a press release that the country has become the first in Europe and one of the first in the world to adopt a framework to regulate “commercial influence”.
“The text was voted in record time and before the summer, in accordance with the commitments of the ministers and thanks to the work of parliamentarians from all sides,” the ministry said in the statement.
The law, which comes into force immediately, creates a regulatory body within the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention with a team of 15 agents and creates a legal definition of commercial influence activity.
It also establishes transparency obligations that require influencers to label all paid content and prohibits commercial companies from hiring influencers to promote certain goods and services, including medicines, cosmetic surgery, nicotine, and wild animals, among other prohibitions.
Violators can face fines of up to 300,000 euros, equivalent to about $322,858, as well as two years in prison, according to the text of the bill.
In addition, influencers will need to comply with advertising laws, such as those that require TV and radio advertisers to encourage physical activity in ads for soft drinks and processed foods.
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