The CNMC wants to create a registry of influencers to better control their content and protect users

The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) presented a proposal to the government so that creators of content of “special relevance” who share content through digital platforms register in the new State Registry of Audiovisual Communication Service Providers. With this, the body seeks a greater transparency in the activities of influencers to avoid possible irregularities.

The petition places the streamers, youtubers, tiktokers and vloggers most popular in Spain same legal level that the big streaming platforms like Netflix, forcing them to enable a mailbox in which users can exercise their right to complain and reply. According to the draft, “they are two elements that contribute to the transparency of the sector and that offer users the information and minimum procedure to claim and be able to defend their rights.”

The measure reaches podcasters

The regulation will also affect podcasters, which must be classified separately, to achieve a more precise knowledge of the sector, according to each type of service. In addition, the draft specifies that “the situation of podcasts with domicile outside of Spain that provide services here must also be clarified.”

Podcasters were already covered in the Audiovisual Law of 2010, but thanks to the popularity that this profession has gained, the CNMC hopes for greater transparency and supervision of the activity.

On the other hand, in July of last year the new General Law of Audiovisual Communication (LGCA), which contemplates a modification of the public registry to include both streaming platforms and prescribers. Last December, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation made a public consultation about how this modification should be implemented, from which the CNMC proposed a draft of the new Royal Decree of the Audiovisual Law, which is still waiting to be approved.

Streamers with the highest reach will need to sign up

The new change establishes that streamers with the highest number of audience must sign up to the public registry to specify personal data such as their name and NIF, in addition to data related to the service, such as their financing and retransmission model, the commercial name and the theme of the content they broadcast.

However, these streamers will become part of the registry when their activity as influencers has a significant audience reach, Therefore, the Commission points out that “it should be clarified whether the existence of autonomic providers under the control of the supervisory authorities of the Autonomous Communities is foreseen.” In other words, it must be defined if the Audiovisual Registry will have a differentiation by region according to the reach of the influencer or streamer. And it is that not all these creators have the same scope and their importance can vary from whether they are known only in an Autonomous Community or region, nationally or even internationally.

Finally, the CNMC also has a section related to the pornography. Regarding the platforms, it hopes to implement a procedure to go to the judicial authorities, in the event that “contents that may affect the physical, mental or moral development of minors are included, such as those of a pornographic nature” and thus order the cessation of the services.

Image: Depositphotos

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