France Bans Influencers from Promoting Crypto Products, Projects

• The French National Assembly’s Economic Affairs Committee has voted to ban all unlicensed cryptocurrency products and projects from being promoted by influencers on social media.
• The bill, known as Bill no. 790, will now go to the Assembly and Senate for review and voting.
• Breaches of this new law could result in jail time of up to two years and €30,000 in fines for influencers who are found guilty.

French Government Moves To Ban Influencers From Promoting Unlicensed Crypto Products

The French National Assembly’s Economic Affairs Committee recently agreed to ban influencers from advertising or promoting unlicensed crypto products and projects on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. This move places digital assets under the same regulatory umbrella as gambling, pharmaceuticals and aesthetic surgery.

Bill 790 Submitted To National Assembly By Rapporteur Arthur Delaporte And Stéphane Vojetta

The bill was submitted to the National Assembly by rapporteur Arthur Delaporte and Stéphane Vojetta. It was adopted with a majority vote on March 22nd and has passed the first reading stage before going to the Assembly and Senate for review, debate, voting and possible adoption into law.

Crypto Regulations Create De Facto Ban On All Crypto Promotion

As of March 22nd, not a single cryptocurrency company is licensed by the French financial regulator under what is required by this article. This creates a de facto ban on French influencers from talking about any cryptocurrency-related project or company in their posts or videos.

Recent Scams Involving French Influencers

In January of 2022, more than 100 people filed a class action lawsuit against a French influencer couple living in Dubai for promoting investment platforms that were later revealed to be scams. They primarily operated on Instagram which prompted Meta to suspend their accounts after the lawsuit was filed according to Euronews at the time. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT also came out with allegations that there were other influencers involved in similar activities last year as well.

Penalties For Breach Of Law

Breaches of this proposed law would result in jail time of up to two years and €30,000 in fines for those found guilty while they will also be barred from using social media altogether or continuing their careers post conviction if found guilty by law enforcement authorities