started in the EU "hunting" for influencers: 20 Greeks on the list

A pan-European watchdog identified 576 “influencers” for deceptive commercial practices – with 20 Greeks on the list.

The Ministry of Development took part in a pan-European initiative to control the “sweeping” method on all social media platforms in order to identify “influencers” who carry out commercial activities, promote and advertise the products and services of branded companies.

The audit at the pan-European level took place from October 27, 2023 to November 30, 2023, and 22 competent authorities of the Union member states took part in it. Coordination of enforcement was carried out by the European Commission through a cooperation network between the competent national authorities of the Member States for the enforcement of consumer law (Consumer Protection Cooperation Network).

In total, 576 influencers from all over Europe are under control, of which 20 are from our country. Soon they will receive a letter from the Ministry of Development in which they will be informed and asked to immediately take the necessary corrective actions so that their activities are adapted to what is provided for by European consumer legislation.

results checks of Greek influencers

As a result of the control, it turned out that although 100% carry out commercial activities, only half of them do not always clearly inform the consumer that the content of the posts has a commercial purpose (for example, includes advertising).

• 50% do not provide consumers with clear information about their commercial activities (promotion of goods and services in a veiled form),
• 50% of those who maintain their own sales sites state that they are registered with the General Commercial Register (GEMH.).

All data from the audits carried out will be transferred to the competent services of the Independent State Revenue Administration to identify possible tax violations. Influencers who have their own sales websites and enter into remote contracts with consumers, and in respect of whom violations are identified, will be subject to administrative sanctions provided for by consumer legislation.

Research in Europe

• Of the 97% of “influencers” whose posts are commercial in nature, only 20% clearly inform the consumer that the posts are advertising or commercial in nature.
• 78% of “influencers” carry out commercial activities, but only 36% of them are registered in the commercial register of their country, to the extent provided for by the national legislation of the Member State.
• 30% of “influencers” do not provide complete information about their company, such as trading name, geographic address, email address or registration number.
• 38% do not use special notification tools available on platforms in their posts, such as the “paid partnership” indicator (for example, on Instagram). Instead, they choose a different wording, such as “collaboration” (16%), “partnership” (15%) or others, generally due to the companies (brands) they have worked with (11%).
• 40% of “influencers” keep commercial disclosure visible throughout all commercial communications.
• 34% of “influencers” list disclosures in a way that is immediately visible without requiring the consumer to take additional action, such as clicking on a “read more” indicator or scrolling to the bottom of the page.
• 40% of influencers showcase and promote their own products and services. However, 60% of them do not provide clear and unambiguous information that this is a commercial activity and promotion of their own products.

According to the results of the EU-2023 audit, out of 576 “influencers” checked at the first stage, 358 influencers are “taken for pencil” – further investigation of their activities by the competent authorities is planned for compliance with consumer protection laws at the national level.

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