Bill Ruling Influencers’ Activity

On June 30, a bill aimed at ruling the activity of influencers who provide digital advertising services through their social networks was introduced in the Argentine Congress.

The provisions of the bill affect any individual or legal entity with residence of at least two years in Argentina acting as influencer in social networks and advertising products and services online. The scope of the bill also covers influencers based in foreign countries as long as they provide services through an establishment in Argentina.

The list of activities considered digital advertising by the bill include unboxing, contests and giveaways, photos or videos presenting brands and any other advertisement through social networks provided that the advertiser pays a compensation for these services.

 

The bill sets forth certain conditions for digital advertising that influencers must consider, such as the following:

- If the influencer receives a financial benefit for the publication, it must be clearly informed that the content constitutes advertising and the hashtag “#PublicidadPaga” (meaning in Spanish, “paid ad”) has to be used.

- Inform the individual, legal entity or beneficiary of the advertising.

- Alert about potential negative effects a product may cause to children and teenagers.

 

Moreover, the bill lists the obligations that the advertiser must address before an advertisement is published, such as:

- Specify in the service agreement to be executed with the influencer the advertising nature of the content to be published by the influencer.

- Hold enough supporting evidence to demonstrate the accuracy of statements describing products or services.

- Comply with regulations on conditions, restrictions and prohibition of certain content or the advertisement of specific products.

- Hold the relevant authorization or license to use trademarks or works protected by copyright law in advertising.

On the other hand, the draft provides that an influencer who receives a payment or compensation for digital advertising services must be registered with the Federal Tax Authority (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos) as a self-employed worker.

 

Failure to comply with the provisions of the bill would lead to the following sanctions:

- Warning.

- Judicial take-down of the advertising from the social network or any other digital media as requested by the supervisory authority.

- Rectification of misleading, incorrect or false information.

- Fines ranging from 10 to 1,000 minimum and vital wage (currently ARS 168,750 to ARS 16,875,000).

 

To conclude, the bill intends to regulate an important activity that has been developed in recent times with the mass use of technologies and social networks.