FNC members call for tighter social media controls
The Government should keep a closer watch on social media influencers to ensure the content they share is in line with the values and ethics of the UAE, the Federal National Council heard yesterday.
Members voiced concerns over how many influencers did not reveal whether they were getting paid to endorse products and services or not.
Distinguishing between regular shared content and paid content is now mandatory under the electronic media regulation system launched by the National Media Council on February 28.
Paid social media influencers and bloggers must obtain a licence before the end of June.
Penalties for failing to do so include fines of up to Dh5,000, a verbal or official warning, and/or closure of the website or their account. But according to Ras Al Khaimah member Naama Al Sharhan, the new regulations do not go far enough.
“It has not been activated yet in a way for people to understand that when you are getting paid to endorse a product, you must say so. What if I go [to] use the face cream you were pretending to be using and my skin gets irritated?” said Ms Al Sharhan.
A comprehensive deterrent law that oversees influencers’ activities in general – not just their paid activities – was also needed, she said. “When I open Instagram and I see an obscene scene, I think of the young people who are viewing it too. We don’t want people promoting nonsense, like when a fashionista posts footage of herself lying down ... what is this?” she said.
“The values that were instilled by our grandparents are being diminished by those jobless people who call themselves influencers – what are they influencing exactly?
“So what is the NMC’s plan to stem the negative impact of social media?” she asked Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of the National Media Council.
“This is a true concern. We don’t want to call it a challenge, but an opportunity,” Dr Al Jaber said.
“After the new e-licence was launched, there were a number of workshops and meetings with influencers.”
He said the majority of influencers had a positive effect on society, but of the rest, “I don’t want to call them negative, they are just not aware”. Dr Al Jaber said the new system had opened doors for the Government to deliver its message to influencers who did not know how to “deliver the message in the desired way ... and we hope there will be tangible improvements”.
Dubai member Hamad Al Rahoomi said everyday content shared by influencers did not need to be monitored by the Government. “We are not controlling people’s lives,” he said.
However, Mr Al Rahoomi said influencers should have personal governance over their posts and should not post destructive content just to gather followers.
“You are being followed by 100,000 people, and those include children, so you should be socially responsible,” he said. “We don’t want the world to be filled with jokers.
“[Influencers’] messages should be positive and ethical, the more followers [they] have, the more ethically responsible [they] should be.”