The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection (DECO) requested this Monday more clear rules for “influence marketing”, on social networks, claiming that the line that separates simple content from advertising content is increasingly sneaking.
In a statement, Deco considers it necessary to change the advertising code to better adapt to these new realities and different ways of communicating.
“It is urgent to advance with a set of restrictions on the object of advertising and a simplification of the procedural regime,” says the association.
Deco recalls that, in recent years, with the growth of the digital economy and social networks, “influence marketing has definitely altered the paradigm of advertising, being considered the most effective form of line advertising”.
Despite the “goodwill” of initiatives to sensitize prosecutors to comply with the law on publicity and promote good practices in commercial communication, Deco recalls that unidentified advertising “remains a constant”, and it is often difficult to recognize when it comes to advertising content.
And it gives examples of common commercial practices in influence marketing that need “more attention and clear limits”, such as advertising disguised to promote aesthetic procedures, food supplements or weight loss plans, with the potential to “negatively influence more vulnerable audiences”.
Therefore, Deco appeal to a densification of the rules and the introduction of new prohibitions, to reinforce the transparency of advertising on digital platforms, facilitate the application of the rules and their supervision, protecting the most vulnerable.
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