JEAIL > Volume 17(2); 2024 > Digest
Research Paper
Published online: November 30, 2024
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2024.17.2.12

Bitcoin, Botox and Bullion: Protecting Consumers from Deceptive and Illegal Advertising by Social Media Influencers

Oyunjargal Baatar & Bayalagmaa Bayaraa
National University of Mongolia School of Law
710 Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Corresponding Author: oyunjargal.b@num.edu.mn

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/liceInha University Law School, 100 Inharo, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212 Korea. / nses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
More than 5 billion people will use the Internet and social media by the end of 2024 and global influencer marketers reached USD 24 billion in early 2024. A regulation is thus needed to protect domestic consumers from the negative effects of global influencer marketing, such as deception, hidden advertising, and information uncertainty. Can the current legal framework effectively protect domestic consumers from misleading or deceptive and illegal advertising conducted by influencers through social media platforms from outside of their jurisdiction This essay first examines social influencing and explains how social influencers operate across national borders. It then discusses domestic legislation governing social influencers in China, Japan and South Korea and discusses why these domestic frameworks provide scant protection for consumers against false advertising and misinformation originating in another country. Finally, this essay proposes an international solution to a problem that will only increase size and severity in the future.

Keywords : Influencer, Influencer Marketing, Consumer Protection, Misleading or Deceptive Advertising, Disclosure Requirements

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