Digital Advertising Wilderness: In Lyon, Monitoring Unlawful Promotion on Social Media Platforms
News Article: French Regulations Crack Down on Illicit Advertising on Social Media
In a bid to maintain transparency and protect consumers, France is tightening its grip on illegal advertising on popular social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The country's regulations are shaped by evolving European Union (EU) rules that France is implementing nationally.
Recently, the focus has been on a video posted by influencer Karoline Fontrodona, a psychologist at Avenir Santé. The video, found on Instagram but not on TikTok, does not seem to violate the 2023 law aimed at regulating commercial influence and combating influencer excesses. However, the video does encourage followers to bet on today's football match, and offers a 100 euro bonus for new subscribers, which is a promotion of sports betting. This promotion is prohibited by the 2023 law.
The video is part of Fontrodona's content, and was recorded during the team's review activity, which is not a lunch break activity but a mission for the Addict project, focusing on recording illicit content. At 1:30 PM, Avenir Santé's team in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon begins reviewing posts from influencers. Fontrodona, who was wearing round glasses during her review activity, stopped at the video promoting sports betting on Instagram.
It's important to note that the video does not encourage followers to bet on any specific event, nor does it seem to involve any sports betting promotion. The recorded video is an ephemeral content, which may have contributed to it slipping through the cracks.
France's regulations are not limited to this instance. The country is enforcing the EU Regulation (EU) 2024/900, effective fully from October 15, 2025, which regulates political advertising transparency and data targeting. The French data protection authority CNIL is updating its guidelines to comply with this framework.
France has also enacted a new law banning advertising of ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu on social media, reflecting a growing regulatory trend to restrict advertising that encourages overconsumption or is deemed harmful. The French financial market regulator AMF complies with ESMA guidelines applying since 2022 to marketing communications, requiring ads to be clearly identified as such, fairly present risks and rewards, and be non-misleading.
Supporting minors is another key area of focus. Bans or parental consent requirements for minors accessing social media platforms are being enabled, aiming to limit exposure to potentially inappropriate or illegal content including advertising.
In summary, France uses a combination of French law and newly implemented EU regulations to control illegal advertising on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. These emphasize transparency for political ads, ban certain types such as ultra-fast fashion, impose clear marketing guidelines, and incorporate measures protecting minors from inappropriate social media use and advertising.
[1] European Commission. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on transparency and targeting of political advertisements. [2] European Commission. (2023). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to ensure the protection of minors against child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation in the online environment. [3] French Government. (2023). Law banning advertising of ultra-fast fashion brands on social media. [4] European Securities and Markets Authority. (2022). Guidelines on marketing communications under the PRIIPs Regulation. [5] French Data Protection Authority (CNIL). (2023). Guidelines on transparency and data targeting in political advertising.
- Despite the video not appearing to violate regulations against commercial influence, it promotes sports betting, a practice prohibited by French law.
- In addition to combating illicit advertising on social media, France has also implemented EU Regulation (EU) 2024/900, which focuses on political advertising transparency and data targeting.
- The French government has also enforced a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu on social media, reflecting a growing focus on limiting advertising that encourages overconsumption or is deemed harmful.
