“I received a phone call a little over a week ago. (…) It was 7:30 p.m., time to eat, I cut it short fairly quickly. Benjamin Brillaud, better known by his pseudonym of NoteBenedid not see his name attached to the platform signed by 150 influencers in the Journal du Dimanche, calling on the deputies to “not break their model” and does not complain about it, in view of the reactions since.
One hundred and fifty signatories… Or almost. Since its publication on Saturday afternoon, the text has suffered numerous criticisms and defections from major content creators in the field. Squeezie, Cyprien or Nozman have publicly claimed not to have read the text before its publication, or even not to have given their consent for it to be signed on their behalf.
The list of signatories has not been modified since these speeches. “It’s a mess (…) We all generally signed something with 2-3 WhatsApp exchanges, which is a shame for us because we look a bit like idiots. (…) We are really stupid to have acted like that, ”acknowledged Monday morning on France Inter the Youtubeur Seb la Frite.
A text presented to content creators as “hyper restrictive”
These influencers claim that the text was sold to them as highly penalizing for their activity and would place many restrictions on their production. The platform was thus offered to them “as a means of defending themselves against laws that are too extreme, which could have wrongly penalized honest content creators”, deplores Squeezie in particular.
According to our information, these contacts were made well before Bercy’s announcement on Friday of the content of the bill. Thus, this temporality could explain the fears to which the signatories initially subscribed, who then supported the text, once its content was revealed by the Ministry of the Economy.
In fact, it notably provides for measures similar to those applied in other sectors: obligations to establish contracts for collaborations with brands, supervision of the work of minors, prohibition of the promotion of alcohol, financial products and sports betting as on other media… Rules implemented to protect consumers in line with the results of the public consultation launched at the start of the year.
“When you look at the law and what it protects, everything is ok. We are in favor,” said Seb la Frite on Monday, who, like several of his colleagues, wanted “a nuance between content creators and influencers in Dubai”.
The Union of Content Creators regrets a “poorly perceived” forum
At the origin of this text, there is one of the recent structures created in the sector: the Union of professions of influence and content creators (Umicc), born in January. It brings together influencers and agencies, responsible for connecting creators and brands. It is these agencies, members of the Umicc, which have been called upon to solicit the signatories.
Youtuber NotaBene also confirms on Twitter that the person who contacted him presented himself as a member of Umicc, part of an agency.
In a press release, this professional collective deplores that its platform was “badly perceived”. The initial goal was that “the very positive balance of the current text should not be distorted during the vote”. “Our position is clear and has never changed: we support this law,” he reaffirms.
Contacted by Le Parisien, the Umicc insists on the fact that the text was addressed “to the deputies” in the perspective of the examination of the bill carried by the majority and La France insoumise. “It’s a cross-partisan proposal, so our platform was to say to MPs: ‘ You are going to study a law, you may not know our job, we will explain it to you” “says a representative of the organization.