In almost all European countries, influencer marketing is regulated by existing national and EU laws on advertising and
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:52 am
In almost all European countries, influencer marketing is regulated by existing national and EU laws on advertising and consumer protection, and disputes are most often resolved through self-regulatory authorities (SROs) .
" Whenever new regulatory tools are discussed, we try to position advertising self-regulation as part of the solution ," says Tudor Manda, head of self-regulation development at AESA.
« A consumer complaint filed with a self-regulatory body is usually handled in 67% of cases within two weeks, so it is quite fast. There are around 14 SROs in Europe in our network that have implemented influencer marketing guidelines, and another seven are currently drafting them .»
In addition to the SRO system, countries such as France, Belgium and Spain have adopted new laws to regulate influencer marketing. In Belgium, the new national laws have been met with dismay by the sector, as they equate commercial influencers with commercial operators and require them to publish their address or risk fines of up to €80,000.
In France, the self-regulatory body ARPP ( Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de Publicité ) is a pioneer in the field of responsible influence, having created several years ago an Observatory of Responsible Influence and a Certificate of Responsible Influence.
The laws currently being debated in the French Parliament are the result of a broad consultation process with the sector, and have been accompanied by the publication of guidelines on good practices for influencers.
" We feel that we have been listened to and taken care of, and the measures announced are going in the right direction ," says Quentin Bordage, CEO of Kolsquare.
" All stakeholders will need to be vigilant in ensuring the necessary education, including the distribution of the Good Practice Guide to KOLs, agencies and advertisers, and to ensure that the crackdown on excesses is effective ."
However, some provisions of the French law, such as the obligation for all partnerships between influencers and brands to be covered by contracts , regardless of the size or monetary value of the partnership, and the ban on certain sectors using influencer marketing while still being allowed to use traditional advertising, have caused unrest among industry stakeholders.
In Spain, during the month of October 2020, the Association for Self-Regulation of Commercial Communication (AUTOCONTROL) and the Advertising Observatory of the National Consumer Institute published the “ Code of Conduct on the use of influencers in advertising ”, whose central purpose is to create guides and guidelines for good practices in the identification of content of an advertising nature generated by content creators.
According to this code, it is mandatory to explicitly mention advertising if the content shared by the influencer is the result of a collaboration. To do so, it suggests the use of terms such as “advertising”, “publicity”, “in collaboration with” or “sponsored by”.
Another legislation in force since July 9, 2022 in the Spanish territory is the General Law on Audiovisual Communication , also called the “Influencer Law in Spain”. This law regulates online advertising, especially the promotion of goods or services by influencers on social media. Its objective is the efficient regulation of sponsored posts, making them easy to recognize and ensuring that consumers are well informed about their commercial nature.
But this law goes further, it also seeks to guarantee values such as inclusion and r&d directors email database diversity, both in the work of influencers and in streaming platforms, VOD services and traditional media.
You might be interested in: Inclusive Influencer Marketing: Best Practices
Do consumers need protection from influencers?
Regulatory efforts to tighten rules on influencer marketing are being fueled by high-profile scandals involving unscrupulous influencers and agents who have leveraged the power of the medium to sell everything and anything to unsuspecting consumers.
Efforts to clean up the sector are an acknowledgement that such scandals give the industry a bad name, while the vast majority of influencers, brands and agencies strive to act responsibly.
From a consumer protection perspective, influencer marketing is successful because it leverages influencers' personal and editorial content to promote brands, products and services.
This is why the debate in the sector has crystallised around a clear demarcation between advertising and commercial content from influencers and editorial content . In Europe, there is a broad consensus reflected in current regulations that influencer content that includes a paid or gifted element must be clearly and immediately labelled.
" Consumers understand that influencers should be paid, and I don't think they have a problem with that, as long as the content is valuable, fun or entertaining. What we don't want is for consumers to feel cheated ," says Scott Guthrie, CEO of the British organisation Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB).
" Whenever new regulatory tools are discussed, we try to position advertising self-regulation as part of the solution ," says Tudor Manda, head of self-regulation development at AESA.
« A consumer complaint filed with a self-regulatory body is usually handled in 67% of cases within two weeks, so it is quite fast. There are around 14 SROs in Europe in our network that have implemented influencer marketing guidelines, and another seven are currently drafting them .»
In addition to the SRO system, countries such as France, Belgium and Spain have adopted new laws to regulate influencer marketing. In Belgium, the new national laws have been met with dismay by the sector, as they equate commercial influencers with commercial operators and require them to publish their address or risk fines of up to €80,000.
In France, the self-regulatory body ARPP ( Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de Publicité ) is a pioneer in the field of responsible influence, having created several years ago an Observatory of Responsible Influence and a Certificate of Responsible Influence.
The laws currently being debated in the French Parliament are the result of a broad consultation process with the sector, and have been accompanied by the publication of guidelines on good practices for influencers.
" We feel that we have been listened to and taken care of, and the measures announced are going in the right direction ," says Quentin Bordage, CEO of Kolsquare.
" All stakeholders will need to be vigilant in ensuring the necessary education, including the distribution of the Good Practice Guide to KOLs, agencies and advertisers, and to ensure that the crackdown on excesses is effective ."
However, some provisions of the French law, such as the obligation for all partnerships between influencers and brands to be covered by contracts , regardless of the size or monetary value of the partnership, and the ban on certain sectors using influencer marketing while still being allowed to use traditional advertising, have caused unrest among industry stakeholders.
In Spain, during the month of October 2020, the Association for Self-Regulation of Commercial Communication (AUTOCONTROL) and the Advertising Observatory of the National Consumer Institute published the “ Code of Conduct on the use of influencers in advertising ”, whose central purpose is to create guides and guidelines for good practices in the identification of content of an advertising nature generated by content creators.
According to this code, it is mandatory to explicitly mention advertising if the content shared by the influencer is the result of a collaboration. To do so, it suggests the use of terms such as “advertising”, “publicity”, “in collaboration with” or “sponsored by”.
Another legislation in force since July 9, 2022 in the Spanish territory is the General Law on Audiovisual Communication , also called the “Influencer Law in Spain”. This law regulates online advertising, especially the promotion of goods or services by influencers on social media. Its objective is the efficient regulation of sponsored posts, making them easy to recognize and ensuring that consumers are well informed about their commercial nature.
But this law goes further, it also seeks to guarantee values such as inclusion and r&d directors email database diversity, both in the work of influencers and in streaming platforms, VOD services and traditional media.
You might be interested in: Inclusive Influencer Marketing: Best Practices
Do consumers need protection from influencers?
Regulatory efforts to tighten rules on influencer marketing are being fueled by high-profile scandals involving unscrupulous influencers and agents who have leveraged the power of the medium to sell everything and anything to unsuspecting consumers.
Efforts to clean up the sector are an acknowledgement that such scandals give the industry a bad name, while the vast majority of influencers, brands and agencies strive to act responsibly.
From a consumer protection perspective, influencer marketing is successful because it leverages influencers' personal and editorial content to promote brands, products and services.
This is why the debate in the sector has crystallised around a clear demarcation between advertising and commercial content from influencers and editorial content . In Europe, there is a broad consensus reflected in current regulations that influencer content that includes a paid or gifted element must be clearly and immediately labelled.
" Consumers understand that influencers should be paid, and I don't think they have a problem with that, as long as the content is valuable, fun or entertaining. What we don't want is for consumers to feel cheated ," says Scott Guthrie, CEO of the British organisation Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB).