The EU is set to clamp down on influencer marketing – especially those that trick users.
The European Union (EU) is clamping down on influencer marketing in a bid to protect consumers in the region.
The Digital Fairness Act will look to tighten restrictions around harmful digital practices, particularly focusing on influencers and consumer protection laws, according to documents seen by AFP.
The deceptive practices, which the EU calls “dark patterns”, are primarily used by influencers to trick users into choosing their preferred seller.
As such, the new legislation will demand greater transparency over pricing. For example, online retailers will no longer be able to make outlandish claims about the popularity or availability of a product, feigning scarcity or creating a false sense of urgency, an under-review document confirmed.
Video games will be banned from offering children “pay-to-win” or “pay-to-progress” features; and any game with an in-game virtual currency must show the real-world value alongside.
Autoplay features must have an opt-out, and users will be able to turn-off notifications not related to their activity, the documents confirmed.
These restrictions will not be targeted at influencers only, brands and retailers working with influencers will also face stricter rules on how to promote their products.
Content creators will have to clearly label promotional content as an “advertisement” or as a “commercial collaboration”. As it stands, under European consumer law, any advertising – including brand partnerships on social media content is creates in exchange for products or services, or affiliate marketing – must be disclosed.
The new rules will also ban influencers from encouraging children to buy their products, or to persuade their parents from buying commercial products.
Free trial periods must remind consumers when the trial is over, and about how much it will cost to continue.
And users must be informed of the full price of an order before checkout. This sets to ban ‘drip pricing’, which is the practice of hiding fees until the very end of the buyer journey. Instead, the documents stated, sellers must show “the maximum price a consumer may be required to pay for that ticket”.
