Influencers with more than 500,000 followers must adhere to stricter advertising rules from Friday. Here’s exactly what’s going to change for popular creators.
As of July 1, influential influencers will be supervised by the Media Authority (CvdM). This means that they must comply with the Media Act.
This law states, among other things, that influencers must make it clearer whether they display products for a fee. They are also no longer allowed to extensively promote toys in sponsored videos aimed at children.
Video makers are still allowed to show their enthusiasm about products as long as they are not paid for it. If they do get money for it, then there is advertising or product placement. Influencers who are sponsored must be clear about this.
Advertising of medical products is prohibited. Content consisting of news or political information may never be sponsored, according to the CvdM.
The new rules will apply to all creators with more than 500,000 followers. They must register with the CvdM and state information about their company on their account.
They must also state on their accounts that they are supervised, join the Advertising Code Foundation and register with the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media.
More clarity for children, among others
The aim of the new rules is to provide more clarity to viewers of online videos and to protect them from harmful content, says the CvdM. This is especially important for children, as they “are not always able to understand and appreciate the information presented”.
It was previously known that the rules would be tightened up as a result of the Media Act that was passed in 2020. All member states of the European Union must further tighten their media rules, so that online content is also subject to supervision.
The Media Act also states that influencers must take measures to improve accessibility for visually and hearing impaired people. In addition, a certain percentage of the videos must consist of “European works”. Finally, it is prohibited to incite violence or hatred in videos, or to provoke a terrorist offence.
New rules apply to hundreds of influencers
The CvdM will “monitor risk-oriented” on the three above-mentioned rules. On the other rules, such as making it clearer when it comes to advertising, this is not yet the case. This will probably change over time and the CvdM will also actively monitor this at a later date.
A spokesperson for the CvdM previously informed NU.nl that “several hundred” influencers in the Netherlands must adhere to the new rules. It is likely that in the long run, video uploaders with fewer followers will also have to register.
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