Who: Council of the European Union (Council)
Where: European Union
When: 14 May 2024
Law stated as at: 7 June 2024
What happened:
Background
The Council has recently published a series of conclusions relating to ways in which influencers can be supported online.
It is widely recognised that influencers have a significant impact on the content and information that is consumed online. While there are of course benefits to influencer marketing, the content that influencers create can also be detrimental to individual well-being and society at large. The mental and physical health of their followers, particularly minors, can be negatively impacted by the dangers inherent to the online world, such as cyberbullying, misinformation and the promotion of unrealistic standards.
Within the publication, the Council acknowledged that there are few representative organisations focusing on influencer support, with most agencies only representing their commercial interests. In light of this, the Council invited European member states, at appropriate levels, to facilitate dialogue and engage with influencers to ensure that they are aware of their role in the media ecosystem and the legislation that is applicable to them.
It also invited the European Commission to explore ways to support influencers at EU level, including by ensuring a coherent policy approach focusing on media literacy as well as making use of existing EU funds and media literacy programmes.
The Member States the Commission were also urged to:
- support the development of policies encouraging responsible online behaviour and development of self-regulatory bodies/mechanisms such as a dedicated ethical code of conduct; and
- ensure that influencers are involved in aspects of the development of policies that may impact them (for example, artificial intelligence).
The Council also made reference to the rise of “kidfluencers” (minors who influence). It highlighted the need for the parents and guardians of “kidfluencers” to protect them and ensure that they are aware of how to act responsibly online (including how to comply with their relevant legal obligations).
The publication of these conclusions by the Council is not the first time this year that an EU institution has engaged with influencer marketing-related issues. In February, the Commission published the results of a screening sweep across influencers’ posts. The aim of the sweep was to understand whether influencers are disclosing the commercial content they post online in compliance with EU consumer law.
The increased focus on the role of online influencers is also mirrored in the UK. The Advertising Standards Authority continues to name and shame influencers who are in breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing for repeatedly failing to disclose when they are advertising to consumers through their social media channels. The Financial Conduct Authority also recently charged nine “finfluencers” (finance influencers) with promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme on social media. The defendants will appear in court in June 2024.
Why this matters:
The conclusions published by the Council form part of a wider trend of industry stakeholders and regulators recognising the impact that influencers are having on the content and information that is consumed online and taking steps to address the negative aspects of that impact. That said, it is interesting to see the Council engaging with influencers in this way, that is by encouraging other industry stakeholders to take steps to support influencers instead of recommending that more stringent rules are imposed on influencers.
