'Influencer Marketing' on Social Media: Consumer Protection Issues from the Perspective of EU Law

Abstract

Influencer marketing is a modern sales promotion method practised by contemporary prominent people and celebrities primarily on social media. It exploits the technological infrastructure of these electronic communities, as well as the influencer’s fame and recognition, so as to reach the consumer aptly and effectively. International research and statistics have shown that a significant percentage of consumers, particularly young people, are indeed guided by influencers in their purchases. This encourages enterprises to invest in the said sales promotion method, thus enabling a new profitable industry to emerge. Nevertheless, influencer marketing reserves specific challenges for the consumer’s financial freedom, which this study endeavours to highlight and comment upon. The rights granted by Directive 2005/29 to influencers’ followers in their capacity as consumers are presented and the conditions under which influencer marketing constitutes an unfair commercial practice are examined.

Keywords: B2C marketing, Unfair commercial practices, Surreptitious advertising, Targeted advertising, Average consumer