The Economic Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly met on Wednesday to discuss marketing and promotions in France relating to cryptocurrencies that were made by celebrities on social media.
It was decided that such practices should be made illegal in order to safeguard consumers from any potential dangers they may face.
The amendment to Law no. 790 (1), which seeks to tackle scams and “excess” material disseminated by influencers on social media platforms, includes the suggestion above.
The modification to the law will further put crypto in the same classification as high-risk financial products, betting, aesthetic surgical intervention, and pharmaceutical drugs.
It was proposed by Stéphane Vojetta, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, which is the ruling party, and Arthur Delaporte, a socialist member of the opposition.
Individuals who break the rule risk losing access to their social media posts in addition to serving a prison sentence of up to two years and paying a fine of 30,000 euros.
It is important to note that the ban has already been approved by the reading stage and has won a majority vote from the Economics Committee of The National Assembly.
After that, it will be reviewed and put to vote in the Senate and Assembly, respectively.
Arthur Delaporte made a remark:
“It’s not about stifling individual liberty; rather, it’s about appreciating the efforts of those who wield influence.”
“Marketing targeting financial services and goods offering a specific risk” is something France does not want its citizens to be exposed to. Hence they have legislated a ban on cryptocurrency marketing.
Should the Assembly and the Senate decide to approve the proposal, France will join Spain, Belgium, and the United Kingdom in pursuing a more stringent policy regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies.
Particularly, these nations are putting limits on advertising and public relations activities.
To gain more control over cryptocurrency marketing, Spain was the first jurisdiction in Europe to limit cryptocurrency influencers’ ability to promote their products.
It is possible that they are not suitable for retail investors, and it is possible that the entire amount invested would be lost.
A Closer Look Is Being Taken at Certain French Influencers in Regards to Bitcoin Scams
A French couple named Marc and Nadé Blata, who was residing in Dubai at the beginning of the year 2023 was embroiled in a controversy involving cryptocurrency advertising that turned out to be a hoax.
The couple gave their millions of Instagram followers investment advice and marketed a platform known as Animoon, which is an NFT (network for trading assets).
The site was able to raise up to $6.3 million, but not a single investor was compensated for their investment.
102 people have come forward to claim that they were taken advantage of by the couple and have filed a class action lawsuit against them.
As the news of the issue became public, Meta promptly terminated the fraudulent users’ Instagram accounts.
In the year 2022, there was yet another incident that involved social media influencers from France. The proprietor of a YouTube channel called “Crypto Gouv” gave trading ideas, detailed how-to co-invest in cryptocurrencies, and discussed non-fungible tokens.
In addition, he maintained his Discord and Telegram channels for an extended period, during which he encouraged the users of his channels to participate in group investments.
After cultivating a community of 4,000 individuals, Crypto Gouv made a solicitation for an investment pool and offered the possibility of tremendous returns.
As a direct consequence of this, close to 300 individuals were impacted, and the proprietor of the channel, whose identity was not disclosed, was awarded 4 million euros.