Broadcasters and marketers in France must be feeling like they’re in the medieval period compared to the rest of the modern world. France’s Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) has stood by their ruling that broadcasters could legally point viewers or listeners to their sites on generic social media but could not specifically cite or mention services like Facebook or Twitter.
Facebook and Twitter are two of the largest and most widely recognized forms of social media around the world, it’s understandable that many in France are disgusted with the CSA ruling. To defend their stance, the CSA regulator said specific references to the social networking sites would violate a 1992 law banning secret advertising.
Was there even internet in 1992? What kind of nonsense is that? In this age of rapidly advancing technology and the movement towards social media, France is referring to a law that was passed in 1992? Incredible.
92’ was a good year for hip-hop not for internet laws.
The CSA argued that redirecting viewers to a generic social media instead of specifically Facebook or Twitter would still be informative.
Right. It would be about as informative as sending them to a site with less information. Obviously, the CSA is missing the point. Twitter and Facebook allows it’s audiences to be updated instantly and directly. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for immediate communication and feedback, which is why so many companies and broadcasters have their own Facebook and Twitter accounts.
France has always been the dial-up version when it comes to catching up to the times on internet regulation. It hasn’t been that long since they finally decided to open up the online gambling market.
So while the rest of the world is figuring out ways to use and leverage their presence in social media, France is making sure they will be lagging behind. Bravo.
This ruling will do nothing but hamper business. In 92′ there was no such thing as Twitter, there was no such thing as Facebook, the world was a very different place than it is now. Why the CSA fails to recognize this obvious fact remains a mystery, but this ruling will likely be challenged to move forward.
For online gambling operators, it is becoming increasingly important to integrate social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook into the advertising campaigns, that just got a little more difficult in France.
