Gentle reminder to influencers

REFERRING to the letter “Influencers need regulation” (The Star, Feb 15; online at https://bit.ly/3hgrwaw), we agree with the writer’s views that social media influencers need to be bound and regulated by certain rules and regulations to ensure that all content created is safe and appropriate for consumers of all ages.

Fortunately, there is already a set of rules and regulations promoting self-regulation of content among industry players in the advertising, broadcasting, media and virtual fields in Malaysia. Called the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code, it is a set of guidelines drawn up by the Content Forum in 2004 outlining best practices and ethical standards for content creation and consumption across all platforms.

As influencers publish their content in the virtual field, they are also subject to this Code and are highly encouraged to practise self-regulation every time they post content online. This is because they are key opinion leaders who can influence beliefs and shape their followers’ decisions.

These guidelines will be made a lot clearer in an updated version of the Code, which will be released to the public soon.

Besides the updated version, the Content Forum will also be producing our own influencer guidelines this year. These will be based on guidelines used by other countries, but will be modified to suit local needs.

Under the subject of influencer marketing in the updated Code, influencers are required to clearly disclose all advertisements or marketing posts that they are paid for. These should not be disguised as an influencer’s personal posting or used as a tool to mislead consumers.

We believe that updating the Content Code with influencers in mind is a timely move as there have been growing concerns over the non-regulated content created, as highlighted in the letter.

The non-regulated content often results in false representation, sensitive or harmful content, inappropriate posts and things being sensationalised.

An example would be paid advertisements or sponsorships, where an influencer might be compelled to post content that they themselves do not believe in. Some influencers are also guilty of disguising paid advertisements as their own personal posts, and endorsing questionable health and beauty products.

Another example would be an influencer giving her/his opinion or commenting on inappropriate or sensitive topics like religion, children and so on. Recently, there were also reported cases of influencers profiting off their followers via inappropriate means that are sometimes outright scams.

A recent survey conducted by market research company Rakuten Insight revealed that about 75% of Malaysians said they follow at least one influencer on social media.

As of January 2021, Malaysia recorded about 28 million social media users. With this massive number of users who consume content created by influencers on a daily basis, it is crucial that the content created is regulated, especially when published by those who can reach millions of followers in a heartbeat.With freedom comes power, and we urge all influencers to wield that power truthfully and transparently. Hiding the truth from their followers may prove to be a double-edged sword in the future and cause them to not only lose their reputation but also be dropped by their brands and sponsors.

We strongly urge influencers and all other content creators on social media platforms to be extra mindful of what they post, and to always self-regulate before hitting the publish button.

If in doubt, refer to the Content Code on our website, www.contentforum.my.

MEDIHA MAHMOOD

Executive director

Content Forum(The Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia is an independent self-regulatory industry organisation registered under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and designated by the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to oversee and promote self-regulation of content over the electronic networked medium. It comprises key players in the content industry, namely advertisers, broadcasters, content creators/distributors, audiotext hosting service providers, Internet service providers and civil society groups.)