'Unethical' social media influencers to face fines

  DUBAI - Social media influencers who do not mention if their posts are paid content will soon face potential penalties when the National Media Council's new rules are enforced by the end of June. On Tuesday, the Federal National Council (FNC) heard how a number of social media influencers do not practice transparency and responsibility in their posts. FNC members called for a "closer observation" over content and unlawful brand endorsements shared by social media influencers. The concerns were raised to Dr Sultan Jaber, Minister of State and NMC chairman of the board. "This is a business, just like any other, and these social media influencers must be transparent, especially since many of them have hundreds of thousands of followers who trust their judgment," said FNC member Hamad Al Rahoomi. "If you post a video promoting a cafe, you need to inform your followers that you are being paid for it, before being paid," Al Rahoomi said. He said transparency is important to ensure that consumers' rights are protected. "This is part of consumer protection, yet we still find many social media influencers not abiding by the regulations," he said. Under NMC's new rules announced in February, UAE-based social media users who are paid to promote brands, goods and services must apply for a license before the end of June 2018. Those who fail to comply with the new regulations will face fines of up to Dh5,000 and having their social media accounts and related websites or blogs shut down, besides receiving an official warning from the government entity. The rules also state that an influencer should distinguish between advertisement and personal content.

Censorship of unethical content

Al Rahoomi also stressed that influencers also need to ensure that all their posts are constructive and ethical. "Our local TV channels broadcast proper content, yet many influencers are posting obscene and unethical content online, which are viewed by anyone, including minors," he said. "There needs to be a level of ethical censorship," he urged.

Fake news

The UAE Council also stressed on the need for the NMC to regulate publications that could disseminate false news. An FNC committee reported that lack of regulations for electronic media has led to the proliferation of fake news dissiminated through social media. GAD/Expat 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