Download "National Rules Applicable to Influencers"

The European Audiovisual Observatory has just released a new study entitled "National Rules Applicable to Influencers".  This report was co-financed by the European Commission. This new report is the first ever comprehensive comparative analysis of the regulatory frameworks that govern influencer activity in the EU-27, as well as in Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The authors kick off with a look at the concept of influencer and the various definitions which currently exist. At EU level, the concept is not defined. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) does not offer a legal definition, but member states may include influencers under the notion of AVMS providers, as defined in Article 1(1)(a) AVMSD. Since the article in question has mostly been transposed, for the large part, literally into national legislation, this allows for influencers to be considered as AVMS providers at a national level. Turning to national legislation, only France and Spain have definitions by law, 19 other countries offer soft-law definitions, mostly via guidelines or advertising codes. Ten other countries (CH, CZ, DE, DK, HR, LT, LU, LV, MT, SI) currently have no official definition. The report points out that, while definitions may provide legal clarity to influencers, they are not necessary to regulate them. Influencers are in any case bound by advertising and marketing rules, and by the rules which apply to AVMS providers if they meet the required criteria.

In all EU countries and Norway, influencers can be considered as AVMS providers while they are not considered as such in Switzerland and the UK. At the time of writing, the regulation of influencers as AVMS providers was not homogenous throughout the EU.

Moving on to rules applying to influencers, the report examines specific provisions aimed at influencers in national law, zooming in on the specific provisions existing in France and Spain. It then goes on to analyse both media and consumer protection rules that apply to influencers. This chapter provides national examples of enforcement and highlights the widespread development of guidance documents aimed at educating influencers. Particular attention is given to the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in shaping best practices.

The report then examines the availability of training and certification programmes for influencers. It finds a growing trend in professional development, including certified training schemes such as those from the Austrian, German, French and Dutch SROs.

The final chapter of this report presents detailed national summaries for each country covered. These individual country fact sheets provide deep-dive insights into definitions, legal obligations, guidance documents, enforcement cases, and training initiatives specific to each jurisdiction.

A first-time European country-by-country analysis of the way in which national and pan-European legislation applies to influencers and their activities!