The Regulation of Influencers: Expanding the EU Regulatory Horizon beyond Disclosures

The regulation of social media influencers and content creators has become an increasingly important law and policy area that has triggered a lot of interest and European and national level from both state and private regulators. In this chapter, we first make an overview of applicable European Union (EU) legislation relevant for influencers, and we emphasize the problem of regulatory coherence and interpretation. We then discuss some of the most recent law and policy developments at EU level, by highlighting the role of the existing Influencer Legal Hub, as well as the expected Digital Fairness Act for influencer regulation, and we complement this analysis with a brief examination of self-regulation proposed by advertising industry bodies. Lastly we reflect on what the content creator industry should expect from regulators in the following years, and why it is important for creators to improve their overall legal literacy. In doing so, the chapter aims to offer a succinct yet broad picture of the current state and future of influencer regulation in the European Union.