How to regulate influencer marketing to protect consumers
How to regulate influencer marketing to protect consumers
Last Friday 9th of June, YouthProAktiv participated in the hearing organized at the European Economic and Social Committee about influencer marketing and its impact on consumers.
Within the EU, the possibility of a regulation to control influencer marketing practices is growing with several initiatives, like, for instance, a record at the European level of all the influencers that make a living promoting
products through social media.
On this topic, Catalina Goanta, Associate Professor at the Utrecht University School of Law explained that regulation is difficult because influencer activity is quite new and social media platforms change incredibly fast.
Moreover, there is still no clear legal definition of an influencer. For some, it is a profession, while others consider this activity part of a marketing strategy.
Stakeholder’s concerns
Companies that hire influencers also have a say on the issue. Rebecka Allén, Director of Consumer Policy at the WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) explained the concerns of advertisers, regarding these practices and the negative impact that lack of legal frameworks can bring to their business when involving protection of children or the advertisement of illegal activities, addictive practices, or unhealthy food.
In this very same way, Rafael Escudero Alday, Secretary General of the Spanish Ministry for Consumer Affairs and Gambling further support the request if stronger European regulation in this regard.
All participants also agreed that a critical approach towards social media is needed. Even more in this case, because influencers tend to appear as approachable, genuine, and admirable.
Self-regulation
The idea of self-regulation was also introduced in the discussion as alternative to formal regulation. There are other ways to ensure good practices, for instance, the certificate of responsible influencer. The lifestyle influencer Aurelie Van Daelen explained the audience the process for influencers to get it, commenting on the strong positive points of a self-regulation approach.
One example of this responsible influencer practices would be the following. First, the inclusion of the word “advertisement” in the publication. Secondly, the tag of the company that is paying for the publication. And finally, a disclosure text that gives more information about the promoted content.
Influencers are a relatively new phenomenon, that however is becoming the new media and require a clear regulatory framework. With con and pros for regulation and self-regulation, experts are balancing the idea of a co-regulation model that is currently being explored.