In an effort by the legislator to update the Spanish legal framework to the new dynamics of the audiovisual market, significantly affected by technological evolution and the appearance of new actors, on May 2, the Royal Decree 444 / 2024 (“RD”) which was approved on April 30 by the Council of Ministers and which regulates the requirements for the consideration of particularly relevant users of video sharing services through platforms also known as influencers.
The standard also aims to align with the Directive (EU) 2018/1808, where, although the influencers were not explicitly included, leaving Member States free to regulate this figure, recognizing its growing importance in the dissemination of audiovisual and advertising content. This inclusion seeks to guarantee, among others, the protection of users, especially minors, from potentially harmful content that may affect their physical, mental or moral development.
Specifically, the Royal Decree states that users of special relevance are natural or legal persons who use video exchange services and comply with the requirements set forth in article 94.2 of the Law 13/2022, of July 7, General Audiovisual Communication and therefore it is to these subjects to whom the rights and obligations of this standard must be applied.
Criteria to be considered an influencer
Among the criteria to be considered a user of special relevance are, on the one hand, that the annual gross income is equal to or greater than 300.000 euros in the previous calendar year, derived exclusively from the activity of the users in the set of services. video sharing through the platform they use. On the other hand, they must have a considerable audience on the platforms, a requirement that is understood to be met when, in the previous calendar year, 1 million followers are reached on a single video sharing platform or 2 million followers in their global activity on platforms, and the user has published or shared 24 or more videos per year.
These users must register, within a period of two months from the entry into force of the RD, in the State Registry of Audiovisual Communication Service Providers. In this way, their obligations are equal to those of other audiovisual agents.
In summary, the RD is an important step towards the modern regulation of the audiovisual market in our country, addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital era and ensuring that both new and traditional market players fulfill their responsibilities by protecting the public in general content that promotes violence, pornography, terrorism or hatred, complying with the regulations on the dissemination of commercial audiovisual material that they advertise and ensuring the protection of minors and their exposure to content that may affect their physical, moral or mentally in a negative way.
Ines de Casas, Senior Associate at ELZABURU
