2024-01-11 17:02:00
Italy has decided to regulate the commercial and activity of the main influencers, by applying to them the same law that governs audiovisual media and provides for heavy fines in the event of an infraction.
This decision by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) comes in the wake of a recent legal investigation for fraud against the Italian influencer star, Chiara Ferragni.
AGCOM clarified that its decision applies to influencers who have at least one million subscribers on one of the most used social networks or platforms, with at least 2% of the latter reacting to their messages.
The law governing the activity of audiovisual media was adopted in December 2021 and it provides for a whole series of obligations and fines, the highest of which, from 30,000 to 600,000 euros, is envisaged in the event of violation of the provisions concerning the protection of minors.
The provisions concern in particular, according to an AGCOM press release, “commercial communication, the protection of fundamental human rights, minors and the values of sport”.
In the event of product placement, “influencers are required to insert a warning emphasizing the nature of the content,” the press release specifies.
AGCOM’s announcements come at a time of turmoil for Chiara Ferragni, a blogger followed by nearly 30 million subscribers on Instagram (Meta group).
Famous in the world of fashion, the thirty-year-old is at the heart of a scandal over the sponsorship she granted to a brand of pandoro, a Christmas brioche marketed in November 2022, suggesting that part of the revenue would be donated to children suffering from bone cancer at the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin.
Italy’s competition watchdog discovered last month that buyers were indeed being misled. The profit from the sale of this special edition of the Balocco brand pandoro brought in more than a million euros to the companies owned by Chiara Ferragni while the company was limited to making a lump sum donation of 50,000 euros to the hospital.
AGCOM further specifies that a meeting of experts will be held to define “a code of conduct defining the measures that influencers must respect” specifically, and which will allow more transparency in this sector.
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