© Pexels/Liza Summer
For several months, influencers have been the government's pet peeve. In this sense, a law aimed at better regulating them was recently adopted unanimously by the Senate. But this is not the only hobbyhorse of elected officials.
At the beginning of the summer, the Senate also adopted the SREN law, the bill on the security and regulation of the digital space. The goal? Protect minors from online pornography, and more generally, protect Internet users from scams, harassment and misinformation on the Internet.
With amendment no. 742 of the bill on the security and regulation of the digital space, adopted this Thursday, October 5, 2023, the government is attacking influencers and intends to protect the youngest from explicit content. While more than 2 million creators have joined OnlyFans over the last two years and MyM is just as popular, the content offered by these platforms is far from being intended for the general public.
Typically, creators share rather intimate photos and videos for their paying subscribers. It is not uncommon for these influencers to take advantage of Instagram, X (Twitter) or Snapchat to refer to this other facet of their activities. But if minors follow them on social networks, they can then very easily access this content which is not of their age. This is the government's entire concern.
A problem, but no solution
If they do not respect the amendment and continue to promote their OnlyFans or MyM accounts explicitly on their networks, influencers could face a fine of up to 750 euros. But things are far from being so clear when it comes to personalized banners, link aggregators like Linktree or links displayed on their profiles.
The government is talking about a limitation and not a real ban. With this amendment, MP Vojetta simply wants to prevent “these vulnerable audiences from accessing content that is prohibited to them”. So far, no problem. On the contrary, it is even a very good thing. In fact, this still resembles a real ban.
Indeed, as with the blocking of pornographic sites which aims to protect children, the government threatens without succeeding in proposing a real solution. Because if they want to promote their OnlyFans or MyM accounts while respecting the amendment, influencers will have to ensure that they only reach adult users from their social networks. At present, this filtering system is not yet feasible. Consequently, they will have to abstain.
Note that this amendment would only concern French influencers and our dear darlings could well continue to come across explicit content from foreign celebrities by wandering on social networks.
- An amendment to the bill on digital security and regulation (SREN law) was adopted this Thursday, October 5, 2023
- Influencers will no longer be able to promote their OnlyFans or MyM accounts on their social networks…
- …Unless they are able to only reach their adult subscribers
[ ]