France to target influencers' posts to "limit destructive psychological effects"
The French could become the first European nation to create a framework for regulating the influencer sector.
While "Instagram vs. Reality" might be an entertaining trend, it has also become glaringly obvious that a lot of what we see on social media is not always the truth.
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Unfortunately, even though we might be aware of this, it is still very easy to get swept up in the mostly edited lives we see on the internet and this can seriously affect people's mental health.
In a recent press conference, Bruno Le Maire, the French Finance Minister, said that the country will be working on combating the filtering and editing that influencers use in their posts.
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He also tweeted that: "We will make it mandatory to display the use of a filter or retouching on photo and video content during a paid partnership. We do this to limit the destructive psychological effects of these practices for the esteem of Internet users."
Nous rendrons obligatoire le fait d’afficher l’utilisation d’un filtre ou d’une retouche sur les contenus photos et vidéos lors d'un partenariat rémunéré.
— Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) March 24, 2023
Nous le faisons pour limiter les effets psychologiques destructeurs de ces pratiques pour l’estime des internautes.
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The proposal, which would make it mandatory for influencers to disclose whether their photos or videos have been retouched or filtered, is part of a bill that will be considered by France's National Assembly.
It also states that influencers will be barred from promoting cosmetic surgery as part of any paid partnerships.
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The new regulations are set to help support influencers as well as protect consumers, and influencers have been warned that if they do not respect the law, the government will not be lenient.
According to Insider, the government is set to organise a team within the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs, Competition and Fraud Prevention that will be responsible for responding to internet users' reports.
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Main image courtesy of Aleksandr Rybalko/iStock