Influencer legislation: the time has come!

Even if it is sometimes done subtly: influencer marketing is indeed advertising. And anyone who advertises (both online and offline) must adhere to certain rules. That is one of the reasons why these recommendations have been introduced.

On the other hand, there was also an increasing demand for clarity from ‘consumers’. They find it increasingly difficult to distinguish whether an influencer is giving their own opinion or simply regurgitating a brand’s message.

Influencer legislation in Belgium is not new

The first wake-up call came at the end of May when the FPS Economy published a draft for influencer legislation. These turned out not to have been validated yet and were taken offline shortly thereafter. So, everything remained the same for Belgian influencers.

Now that is changing

Because the Council for Advertising and FeWeb have come up with a series of recommendations. These translate the influencer legislation, as it were, into a number of guidelines. We have listed them for you:

• Influencers are required to mention the words advertising, advertisement, or sponsorship. This can also be done with hashtags: #spon, #adv, #prom, #advertising, …
• Social media knows no language barriers. Therefore, the words from the previous point must be mentioned in the correct language so that the recipient understands the message. Think of publicité, advertising, promoted, ad, paid, …
• Furthermore, the influencer may not hide or bury these words under a load of other hashtags. The average consumer—whoever that may be—must be able to notice them quickly.
• A brand or logo mention is also mandatory. This is to make it clear that it concerns a commercial message.

Who is responsible?

The person who posts the content online is responsible for compliance with these rules. The influencer themselves, in other words. The Jury for Ethical Practices in advertising (JEP) monitors whether every influencer complies with the legislation. In the first phase, they are not yet issuing fines, but they can stop campaigns.

We are here for you

Do you still have questions about the new influencer legislation? Or how it changes the collaboration with your brand ambassadors? Feel free to drop by for a coffee (#DouweEgberts #tasty #sponsored), our experts are ready to help.