Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2026
943. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he will examine the introduction of dedicated legislation regulating commercial influencers, including statutory advertising disclosures, written contracts and joint liability for influencers, brands and agencies. [55275/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra967. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he intends to amend the Consumer Protection Act 2007 to expressly define commercial influencing and address advertising undertaken in return for gifted products, affiliate income, hospitality or other non-monetary benefits. [55279/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 943 and 967 together.
The Consumer Protection Act 2007 prohibits misleading commercial practices, including the use of editorial content to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that commercial intent clear to consumers. The Act also prohibits misleading actions and misleading omissions where consumers are not provided with material information needed to make an informed transactional decision. Accordingly, where an influencer promotes a product or service in exchange for payment or other benefits, there may already be obligations to ensure that the commercial nature of the promotion is clearly disclosed.
In addition, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has issued guidance on influencer advertising, highlighting the requirement that advertising and other commercial content must be readily identifiable as such.
At EU level, the European Commission is currently developing a Digital Fairness Act (DFA). The initiative is specifically intended to address issues such as misleading marketing by social media influencers, transparency of commercial communications, and other online commercial practices that may exploit consumers.
As the Commission has not yet published its final legislative proposal, there are no current plans to amend the Consumer Protection Act 2007 specifically to define “commercial influencing” or to create separate provisions covering gifted products, affiliate commissions, hospitality or other non-monetary benefits. My Department will carefully consider any amendments to Irish consumer protection legislation that may be required once the EU Digital Fairness Act has been finalised and its obligations are clear.
My Department is currently considering a range of consumer protection and enforcement measures through the proposed Consumer Protection, Competition and Enforcement Bill. Any further measures relating to influencers will be considered in the context EU developments and the broader policy development process.
