While the controversies are increasing in the middle of online influence, the government now aims to frame the sector. The Ministry of the Economy will organize a round table on December 9 on influencers in order, among other things, to better protect consumers, Bercy said on Tuesday, according to information from Franceinfo confirmed by AFP.
The practices of influencers, some of whom have accumulated millions of subscribers on social networks and have reached the rank of star among young people, can influence the consumption patterns of their audience through their opinions. But the practices of the sector, already accused of encouraging overconsumption, are making a lot of noise for their opacity: remuneration by brands, risks of unfair competition, tax exile of influencers or accusations of scams.
Influencer agencies, platforms, advertisers, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the National Gaming Authority (ANJ) and the Ministry of the Economy, the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE), that of public finance (DGFiP) and competition (DGCCRF) will participate in this round table on December 9, specifies the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
“There is a need to support this new activity”
“The idea is to get everyone around the table to work on different subjects”: taxation, consumer protection and support for influencers in their efforts, we said from the same source. . “There is a need to support this new activity (…) to develop (it) in accordance with the rules of law, with respect for consumers, with respect for French tax legislation”.
This “first exploration” will be followed by consultations over the coming months and may lead to regulatory or legislative measures. At the beginning of November, the ecologist deputy Aurélien Taché had tabled a bill to regulate the practices of the influencer sector.
The one considered the high priestess of influencers, at the head of the powerful agency Shauna Events, Magali Berdah, had already called for better supervision of product placements on the networks. “While the mistrust of the French towards the world of influence continues to grow, the rules are struggling to adapt,” she pointed out. “Let’s be clear: product placement is neither a problem nor bad in itself,” she further defended, adding that “the current excesses mean that it is however urgent to guarantee that it is now framed. »