Rémi Jacob, with Ophélie Artaud 11:10 am, March 27, 2023

This week, a bill to regulate the profession of influencer will be discussed in the National Assembly. The objective: to better control this profession, sometimes plagued by abuses. And as the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire explains at the microphone of Europe 1/Culture médias, the goal is also to empower the platforms.

"We will not let anything pass us by. No drift, no abuse, no embezzlement." On Friday, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire presented his device to regulate the sector of influencers. Because from this Tuesday, a bill on the subject will be studied in the National Assembly. Objective: to put some order in this boiling sector.

The first measure proposed: subject influencers to the same advertising rules as traditional media. Another obligation: mention the use of filters or photo retouching during a paid partnership, in order to "limit the destructive psychological effects of these practices for the esteem of Internet users".

Establishment of an "influencer brigade"

Underage influencers will also be more protected. The idea behind all these measures is that there is then a real control, as Bruno Le Maire explains at the microphone of Europe 1/Culture médias.

"We will have a reporting system that will be put in place. We will set up an influencer brigade composed of fifteen people here at Bercy, and we will have a whole scale of sanctions that will go from financial sanctions to the withdrawal of accreditation for an influencer who has really broken all the rules, "says Bruno Le Maire.

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Another desire of Bercy, to empower the platforms. "They broadcast influencers' content so they can't wash their hands of it and say 'wait, it's not my fault, it's the influencers, I have nothing to do with it'. Everyone must be responsible. These abuses are the consumers who are the victims," adds the Minister of the Economy at the microphone of Europe 1/Culture media.

Ban the promotion of cosmetic surgery on social networks

Another spectacular measure: the ban on the promotion of cosmetic surgery on social networks. If the law is passed, it will be over with these videos on Instagram extolling the benefits of injections. Content that has disastrous consequences.

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"There are women who have found themselves disfigured for some, because influencers had advertised them for dubious practitioners who were not even doctors," said Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte, who co-authored the bill. "So that's why we want to move towards a general ban because there have been too many abuses on these subjects in particular that have harmed people's lives," he added to the microphone of Europe 1/Culture media.

A guide to good conduct for influencers

Finally, this text provides for the dissemination of a "guide of good conduct" for influencers. It is a document of about fifteen pages that lists all their rights and duties.

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"This guide is quite concrete. We think it can be useful, especially for all content creators who are alone and do not know where to inquire. We cannot know the 100,000 laws of this country," said Karine Fernandez, president of the Union of Professions of Influence and Content Creators (Umicc). "So it's important to be able to read it and we think it can work as long as everyone carries their responsibilities. Platforms have one, we agencies have one, advertisers have one, content creators have one. All together, we will be able to get there, "she assures the microphone of Europe 1 / Culture media.

A controversial forum

The Umicc, which was also this weekend at the initiative of a forum published in the Journal du dimanche which made a lot of talk. 150 influencers mentioned their fears at the idea that opprobrium would be cast on all influencers with this law. "We hear about the 'influencers', 'the fight to be fought' against us," they write. "We think it's a mistake. That a minority has become a generality."

Problem, several signatories then retracted, explaining that they were uncomfortable with this forum that could suggest that they are against this law, like Squeezie. The most followed YouTuber of France explained it in a message posted last night on Twitter. "I made the mistake of agreeing to my name appearing in a very awkward column, which I didn't even read before publication," wrote the first YouTuber of France.

My answer pic.twitter.com/hE2kM75lzx

— Squeezie (@xSqueeZie) March 26, 2023