Politico I French politicians push for EU clampdown on influencers

French debate spills over into Brussels over stopping social media stars from promoting dangerous products and trends.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on WhatsApp Mail Print French lawmakers are pushing for the European Commission to mimic French rules that crack down on social media influencers flogging risky products and services such as crypto or cosmetic surgery. 

 French socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte, one of the authors of the French bill, said tougher rules need to be European because content crosses borders. 

 "We know very well that a Belgian influencer can certainly address the Belgian public, but also reach French people," he told an event in the European Parliament on Wednesday. "The European level is the right one," he said.

The French law goes as far as defining influencers as "individuals or legal entities who, for a fee, mobilize their reputation with their audience" to promote goods and services online. 

 Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, a member of the European Parliament for the Renew group, supports the initiative, saying: "we need to find the right vehicle." The directive on retail investor protection rules, where she will lead negotiations in Parliament, could provide an opportunity to test the waters and try to regulate "finfluencers," she said. 

 "It could be a good trigger for something more horizontal," she said. 

 While consumer protection legislation exists, there are "holes" to fill in the current European framework "to cover all forms of commercial influencing" and to address "gray areas," Steven Berger of the consumer group BEUC, told POLITICO. 

 The French effort comes as the European Commission is working on a "fitness check" of EU consumer law.

"The Commission is currently analyzing the potential need to revise consumer law to see whether or not it is adapted to the digital transition," Lucie Rousselle, a member of Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders' cabinet, told the Parliament event. 

 "We're looking at the commercial practices of influencers and to what extent we need additional rules to frame them," she said. Changes to rules are unlikely before 2024, she said.

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