Montreal, October 6, 2021 - The federal government must better regulate influencer advertising on social media in addition to intervening to ban online advertising aimed at children under 13 across Canada, says Option consommateurs in a report released today.
Influencer marketing, the practice whereby companies enter into agreements with influencers to promote their goods or services in exchange for money, products or invitations to exclusive events, is increasingly present in our lives. This phenomenon raises many questions, particularly in terms of transparency concerning whether a message is advertising or not.
Option consommateurs 's research has revealed that, although Canadian laws apply to influencer marketing, particularly with regard to misleading advertising, they do not establish rules for disclosing the advertising nature of a message. For example, there is no uniformity in the symbols used to identify advertising, such as the hashtags #pub and #commandité, or #ad, #sponsored.
Furthermore, our research has shown that these keywords are not always well understood, leading to confusion between an advertising publication and an influencer's original content," maintains research author Clarisse N'Kaa at Option consommateurs. However, some countries have decided to require the use of certain terms, or have agreed to set up technology to identify publications that do not comply with regulations".
This confusion is even more pronounced among children under 13, since the very notion of advertising is abstract for them. Indeed, children do not fully understand the concept of advertising, even though they are strongly influenced by it.
"We feel that banning advertising aimed at children is the best way to protect them. To date, only Quebec has provisions in this area, and here again, the law needs to be clarified with regard to influence marketing," insists Me N'Kaa.
The "Influence marketing: advertising in the age of social media" research project was carried out thanks to funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's contribution program for non-profit consumer and volunteer organizations.
About Option consommateurs
Option consommateurs is a non-profit association whose mission is to defend the rights and interests of consumers. It focuses on issues related to personal finance, business practices, financial services, privacy, energy, debt and access to justice.
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For more information or an interview:
Marie-Ève Dumont, Communications Consultant
514-777-6133
