The work of influencers promoting sustainable lifestyles on social media should be differently regulated so consumers are better protected, a new study says.
There are gaps in the current and forthcoming EU consumer protection measures set up to govern the commercial practices of content creators promoting sustainable products and services, according to the research.
Reliable but relatable communication on sustainable lifestyles on social media could reach many consumers and contribute to changing their behaviour patterns. This includes de-influencers, who encourage people to buy different, greener or more responsibly produced items.
The recommendations in the study are designed to allow content creators to maintain their freedom of speech and to conduct their businesses.
They include changing regulations to clarify content creators' legal status as professionals when they are being paid for the work. This would provide more legal certainty and facilitate the provision of additional training on their legal rights and obligations, and the creation of codes of conduct.
The study says, provided content creators simply reiterate sustainable claims issued to them by the brands, and that they did not have reasonable cause to doubt the veracity of such claims, the brands could be responsible for any misinformation rather than the influencer. This would differ if content creators had more creative control over the communication with their audience and drafted their own sustainable claims.
Professor Joasia Luzak, from the University of Exeter, who carried out the study, said: "How and what influencers communicate to their users will be influenced by the social media platforms they use and their relationships with brands they represent. When they receive marketing materials for a product they are to promote, they may not always be able to question and verify this product information.
"Content creators may then inadvertently misinform their followers simply because they do not have access to the relevant information. However, unreliable content may also reflect a lack of due care."
Current rules say influencers can't mislead consumers by action or omission. They can be held responsible for breaching guidelines solely or jointly with the brand whom they were representing. Guidelines should apply when content creators' commercial activities are "frequent" on their social media channels.
The research says this frequency requirement is ill-suited to apply to content creators' activities. It does not account for content creators spreading their activity between various social media channels, or non-monetised content. The frequency requirement also overlooks the fact that even one commercial post could cause consumer harm.
The study says it would be preferable to remove the suggested requirement of "frequent" posting of monetized content for content creators to qualify as traders engaging in commercial practices.
Online content creation should count as a professional activity, regardless of commercial gain enjoyed by influencers. Instead, the commercial intent driving the communication should be the determinant factor. Registration of such a professional activity in the Member States would be required, otherwise content creators are likely to remain free of obligations imposed by the current European consumer protection.
The option to hold content creators responsible alongside brands gives consumers more opportunities to claim compensation for their damage.
The EU Green Transition Directive prohibits traders from misleading consumers about the durability or repairability of products, or about their environmental or social impact. As sustainable activists often mention these characteristics, any content creators who qualify as traders will need to ensure that they, or the traders providing them with promotional materials, can indeed justify such claims.
