The war is definitively declared between Bruno Le Maire and the influencers.
While the bill aimed at combating scams and excesses of influencers on social networks is presented this Wednesday, May 3, in the Senate's Economic Affairs Committee, the Minister of the Economy is tightening the screws around these stars of the web.
At the microphone of France Info, Bruno Le Maire unveiled Wednesday morning the results of the latest campaign of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) against them.
Of the 50 influencers checked during the first quarter of 2023, 30 were found to be in violation, liable to prosecution for deceptive marketing practices.
The sign for Bruno Le Maire of an urgent need for regulation of the sector.
And this to prevent it from becoming a digital “
Wild West
”.
The Minister of the Economy even intends to publicly post the names of the culprit influencers.
At the request of Bercy, the DGCCRF has tightened controls since December 2022, to the point of having carried out as many in one quarter as during the whole of last year.
In the 30 influencers in violation, “
none was transparent as to the commercial nature of their approach and the identity of the person on whose behalf they were acting
”, specifies the fraud control authority in a press release. .
This will result in the “
pronouncement of 18 injunctions to cease illicit practices, and 16 criminal reports
”.
And the press release confirms that “
Bruno Le Maire and the DGCCRF will make public the measures taken against certain influencers with a view to raising awareness of loyalty issues
”.
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A commercial influence brigade
Still with the aim of securing consumers, the “
commercial influence brigade, announced by the Minister of the Economy last March, will be effective in September, in order to strengthen the controls of the DGCCRF
”.
But it is above all the legal framework that will be strengthened.
On May 9, the bill aimed at combating scams and the excesses of influencers on social networks will be voted on in the Senate, after having been adopted unanimously in the National Assembly.
This text should provide “
a clear and more reassuring framework for the consumer
”, strengthen the powers of the DGCCRF to put an end to illicit behavior more quickly, and reaffirm “
the obligations of digital platforms […] concerning the fight against illegal content and the moderation of influencer accounts
”.