Bitget App
Trade smarter
Buy cryptoMarketsTradeFuturesEarnWeb3SquareMore
Trade
Spot
Buy and sell crypto with ease
Margin
Amplify your capital and maximize fund efficiency
Onchain
Going Onchain, without going Onchain!
Convert
Zero fees, no slippage
Explore
Launchhub
Gain the edge early and start winning
Copy
Copy elite trader with one click
Bots
Simple, fast, and reliable AI trading bot
Trade
USDT-M Futures
Futures settled in USDT
USDC-M Futures
Futures settled in USDC
Coin-M Futures
Futures settled in cryptocurrencies
Explore
Futures guide
A beginner-to-advanced journey in futures trading
Futures promotions
Generous rewards await
Overview
A variety of products to grow your assets
Simple Earn
Deposit and withdraw anytime to earn flexible returns with zero risk
On-chain Earn
Earn profits daily without risking principal
Structured Earn
Robust financial innovation to navigate market swings
VIP and Wealth Management
Premium services for smart wealth management
Loans
Flexible borrowing with high fund security
Social Media Targeted in EU Consumer Group Complaint About Crypto Ads

Social Media Targeted in EU Consumer Group Complaint About Crypto Ads

CoindeskCoindesk2023/06/08 10:17
By:Jack Schickler

BEUC wants Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to prohibit influencers from promoting crypto.

Consumer lobby BEUC is worried about misleading social media crypto ads. (Anna/Pixabay)

BEUC, an umbrella group of European consumer organizations, with European Union consumer protection bodies calling for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to toughen their crypto advertising rules.

National regulators should require social media networks to tighten their policies and ban influencers from promoting crypto, the complaint said.

“Consumers are increasingly being promised ‘get rich quick’ investments by ads and influencers on social media,” Director General Monique Goyens said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in most cases, these claims are too good to be true and consumers are at a high risk of losing a lot of money without recourse to justice."

Under the EU’s forthcoming Markets in Crypto Assets regulation, MiCA, crypto providers will need a license to advertise across the bloc, and the parallel Digital Services Act imposes extra constraints on large online platforms.

BEUC said extra measures are nevertheless needed under existing consumer laws that prohibit unfair commercial practices because crypto scams could expose people to heavy financial losses.

“Crypto promotion is all over the place, you see it on primetime TV,” Goyens told reporters. She added she was “not a fan any more of Matt Damon” and was “boycotting” soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, stars of recent promotions linked to and .

“Online platforms have a duty and an obligation of professional diligence” under EU rules to counter unfair commerce, Goyens added, saying that some networks are breaching their own ad policies.

In theory, national consumer authorities can levy fines on transgressors of consumer law, though Goyens said she wanted sanctions to be tougher. In a case last year, after BEUC complained of hidden marketing and aggressive ads targeting children.

BEUC staffer Agustín Reyna told reporters that social media networks took different approaches to moderating content, but he expected that if they could not stop interactions with misleading material that they should ban all crypto promotions outright.

France recently passed landmark legislation to regulate influencers – social media users who use their clout to promote goods and services. Under the law, will be allowed only for crypto firms that are registered with regulators.

CoinDesk has reached out to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for comment.

UPDATE (June 8, 10:16 UTC): Adds press conference quotes from Goyens, Reyna starting in sixth paragraph, detail of earlier TikTok case.

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

112

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

PoolX: Locked for new tokens.
APR up to 10%. Always on, always get airdrop.
Lock now!