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On May 2, 2024, Royal Decree 444/2024 came into effect known as the Influencers Law. This has marked a before and after for content creators in Spain, particularly for YouTubers, Instagrammers, TikTokers, and others.

This regulation defines the requirements to be considered a “user of special relevance” in the context of video-sharing services through digital platforms.

In this article, we will delve into the primary obligations and implications of this law for influencers.

What does the Influencers Law consider an influencer?

According to Royal Decree 444/2024, an influencer is a content creator who meets certain economic and audience criteria. Specifically, an influencer is someone who:

– Has billed over 300,000 euros in the previous year and,

– Has more than one million followers on a single platform or two million followers across multiple platforms cumulatively.

– Additionally, they must have published at least 24 videos in the previous calendar year.

Registration in the State Register

If you meet these requirements, you are considered an “influencer” under this new regulation and must then register with the State Registry of Audiovisual Communication Service Providers. The deadline to do so is two months from the effective date of this law, which means until July 2, 2024, if you meet the requirements for 2023. If you meet them in 2024, you must register by January 2025.

Further below, we will explain what happens if you fail to register, but before addressing sanctions, let’s review what your obligations would be once you register.

Obligations of content creators under the new law

Once registered, you must comply with various regulations that govern transparency, protection of minors, and respect for copyright (use of video sources, music), among other aspects.

Transparency and content labeling

One of the most important obligations you will have is to clearly label and classify content. This means that if the content is sponsored or promotional, you must indicate it so that your audience has no doubts. The idea is to protect consumers so that they can easily know when they are being exposed to advertising.

Protection of minors and inappropriate content

The law also imposes strict restrictions on content targeted at minors. Therefore, from the moment you register, you cannot advertise tobacco, medications, alcohol, and cosmetic products that promote unhealthy beauty standards. 

Additionally, concerning minors, you must comply with time restrictions for certain types of content, similar to those applied by television channels. Specifically, content related to betting and gambling can only be promoted between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM.

Copyright and sensitive content

Copyright has always been one of the most important issues. Since YouTube initially faced lawsuits for copyright infringement, more and more points have been added regarding what must be protected in videos. Therefore, if you are an influencer, you must ensure not to infringe these rights when using music, images, or other content in your posts.

Penalties and consequences for non-compliance

If you cannot comply with the content creator’s law, you will face certain penalties. These are divided into three categories: minor, serious, and very serious.

Amounts of fines

Fines for minor infractions can reach up to 10,000 euros if your income is less than two million euros. However, if your income equals or exceeds fifty million euros, the fine can go up to 150,000 euros. 

Serious infractions range from 30,000 euros for those earning less than two million euros to 750,000 euros if you equal or exceed fifty million euros. 

Very serious infractions entail fines ranging from 60,000 euros to 1,500,000 euros.

Additional sanctions

Apart from economic fines, as an influencer, you face additional sanctions that can be even more severe, such as having part of your earned money confiscated. 

Conclusion

Take the entry into force of this new Royal Decree 444/2024 seriously because it is just the first step in regulating influencers or content creators in Spain. 

As you can see from all the details provided in this article, influencers now have practically the same obligations as television channels. Clearly, the aim is not revenue generation, but rather to protect the public, especially minors, and to ensure users always know whether they are watching an advertisement or just an influencer’s opinion.

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