'Truly, Madly, Deeply': Using Law to Compel Health and Lifestyle Influencers to Tell the Truth.

Abstract

Influencers are content creators who post online about their lives and can amass a significant following. Influencers can be dangerous by negatively affecting their followers' body image and marketing products in a deceptive way. The limited academic writings which consider influencer regulation note an incongruency between influencer conduct and the corresponding regulatory system. This has been recognised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which has flagged potential reforms. Similarly, the United Kingdom is conducting a review in response to comparable issues and developing draft legislation, while France has introduced new laws to regulate the sector. This article capitalises on the current appetite for legislative reform and proposes to analyse the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for influencers with respect to protecting vulnerable consumers and provides recommendations for reform.