France passes law to regulate influencer marketing on social media

Paris, France: The French National Assembly and the French Senate have adopted a bill to regulate influencer marketing on social media, local media reported Friday.

The bill prohibits the influencers from promoting adulterated products, conducting scams or fraud on social media.

The influencers are also obliged to label content paid by brands when creating content to encourage their audience to purchase the products or services.

It requires that partnerships between influencers and brands should be made clear and visible to make the commercial activities more transparent.

In addition, the bill aims to regulate the practices of the influencers' agents and advertisers.

Those who fail to abide by the law will face up to two years in prison and a penalty of up to 300,000 euros (321,767.58 U.S. dollars).

According to Authur Delaporte and Stephane Vojetta, two rapporteurs who sponsored the bill, the law protects Internet users from excessive information observed online and regulates the activities of content creators.

The French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty estimated that there are some 150,000 influencers online generating content for the French public.

Olivia Gregoire, minister delegate for small and medium enterprises, welcomed the establishment of a "clear framework."

Influencers now can do their work in a legal frame, and French Internet users are protected against abuse from online commerce, she said.