How to contract with Influencers in France

Given the significance of the influencer market (over €21 billion in 2023), which now encompasses all sectors, and with a view fir transparency and consumer protection, France, with the law of June 9, 2023, proposed the word’s first regulation governing the activities of influencers, with objective of defining and regulating influencer activities on social media platforms.

However, influencers are subject to multiple obligations stemming from various sources, necessitating the utmost vigilance, both in drafting influence agreements (between influencers and agencies or between influencers and advertisers) and in the behavior they must adopt on social media or online platforms. This vigilance is particularly heightened as existing regulations do not cover the core of influencer’s activities, especially their status and remuneration, which remain subject to legal ambiguity, posing risk to advertisers as regulatory authorities’ scrutiny intensifies.

Key points to remember

• Influencer’s activity is subject to numerous regulations, including the law of June 9, 2023.
• This Law not only regulates the drafting of influence contracts but also the influencer’s behavior to ensure greater transparency fo consumers.
• Every influencer whose audience includes French users is affected by provisions of the law of June 9, 2023, even if they are not physically present in French territory.
• Both the law of June 9, 2023, and the “Digital Services Act”, as well as the proposed law on “fast fashion”, foresee increasing accountability for various actors in the commercial influence sector, particularly influencers and online platforms.
• Despite a plethora of regulations, the status, and remuneration of influencers remain unaddressed issues that require special attention from advertisers engaging with influencers.

By Altaïr Avocats’ Distribution-Competition team – March 2024: Christophe HERY, Albane Watine and Clara Bergounioux. 

To read the full article published on Legalmondo, please click here.