EU Study: 80% Influencer On Social Media Violates Law, Not Transparent In Paid Content

EU Study: 80% Influencer On Social Media Violates Law, Not Transparent In Paid Content "

JAKARTA - A study released by the European Union on Wednesday, February 14, revealed that four of the five influencers on social media failed to reveal that the commercial content they uploaded was advertising, according to what was required in EU law.

Screening of 576 influencers shows that almost all of them (97%) post commercial content, but only 20% have systematically indicated that it is an ad, according to a statement from the European Commission.

"The problematic marketing practice illustrates the importance of having a strong modern legislation that is sufficient to ensure digital justice for consumers online," the Commission said.

EU executives who led the study along with national consumer protection authorities from 22 EU member countries plus Norway and Iceland - checked posts on social media including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Twitch.

According to the EU Commission, the goal is to verify whether influencers comply with EU consumer law. They did not mention influencer names, but said that 358 of them were appointed for further investigation.

National authorities will contact them to ask them to follow applicable rules and further law enforcement measures can be taken if needed.

The post is mainly about fashion, lifestyle, beauty, food, travel, and fitness. The study found that 119 influencers promote unhealthy or harmful activities, such as junk food, alcoholic beverages, medical or aesthetic care, gambling, or financial services such as crypto trading.

The survey results will be included in an examination of digital justice compliance with EU consumer law - launched in the spring of 2022 by the European Commission - which will assess whether EU law is in effect sufficient to ensure a high level of consumer protection.