Influencer gambling marketing targeted by French politicians
New bill calls for restrictions on social media stars promoting gambling products and cryptocurrency
Two politicians in France have tabled a bill which would see a clampdown on gambling advertising using social media influencers in the country.
Bill 709, or the law proposition aiming to fight against scams and excesses of influencers on social networks, has been put forward by the Socialist Party’s Arthur Delaporte and Stéphane Vojetta, of President Emmanuel Macron Renaissance Party.
At the bill’s core, the two politicians assert that the proliferation of influencers on social networks has led to a series of abuses in the promotion of objects, supplies or services category.
Along with gambling, the pair highlighted influencers’ promotion of pharmaceutical products, surgical procedures, cryptocurrency and professional development courses.
The bill’s object is to strengthen the protection of social network users and consumers and clampdown on rogue advertising from companies and their social media influencer partners.
Under the legislation, influencers would not be able to promote gambling, games of chance or subscriptions to sports prediction sites unless the public is explicitly informed by a clearly visible banner on the image or video during the entire promotion stating that these promotions are restricted to for adults.
The bill would likewise prohibit the promotion of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and surgical procedures, with the exception of the relay of government public health campaigns.
The advertising of financial investments and digital assets would also be banned.
The bill proposes that violation of these regulation would be punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of €375,000.
An introductory statement to the bill read: “It is becoming essential to fight against the spread of misleading or fraudulent commercial practices on the internet.
“The influence of these influencers, sometimes followed by several million people on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat, and in particular by young people, often minors, is based on the closeness felt between them and their audience.
“Thus, the falsely intimate relationship developed by these influencers reassures those who follow them thanks to the sometimes misleading feeling of transparency, honesty, closeness and benevolence towards them, and thus places these followers in the situation of seeing their purchasing decisions determined by the indications of the influencers.”