Subject: Prohibit the misleading or fraudulent use of a person's identity, image, or voice to make a representation to a consumer without their consent.
Scope: The rule applies to all commercial practices covered by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), even in sectors typically excluded. A "representation" is a message made to a consumer to promote or offer a good or service.
Expanded definition: "Image" includes any real or modified image, any image that appears to represent a person (e.g., lookalike, deepfake), as well as any visual or sound recording (e.g., voice cloning).
Enhanced powers: The president of the Consumer Protection Office (CPO) can order:
the cessation of a prohibited practice;
the cessation of allowing such a practice (e.g., hosting or online storage services);
the preservation of evidence related to an offense, including from third parties.
Emergency procedure: The CPO can issue an immediate order in case of emergency or to prevent irreparable harm, and then hear observations afterward (minimum delay of 10 days).
Enforcement: An order filed with the Superior Court has the same force as a judgment.
Financial sector: The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) holds these order powers when the representation targets an activity governed by financial laws.
Sanctions: Violations of the new prohibition and non-compliance with an order may result in criminal penalties and monetary administrative sanctions.
Coming into force: No publicly available information.
Reduced risk of fraud and misleading advertisements using a person's image or voice without consent (e.g., false endorsements from celebrities, calls with cloned voices).
Ability to quickly report to the CPO (or to the AMF for financial services) to stop the practice and preserve evidence.
Businesses, merchants, agencies, and influencers
Obtain valid consent before using someone's identity, image, or voice in any marketing communication, advertisement, testimonial, newsletter, social media, chatbot, etc.
Keep evidence of consent (traceability, records).
Verify AI-generated content to avoid any unauthorized resemblance.
Prepare to respond quickly to an order from the CPO/AMF (cessation, content removal, data preservation).
Platforms, hosts, online storage services
You may receive orders to cease a practice on your services and to preserve evidence, even if you are not the author of the advertisement.
Same obligation of consent; the AMF can order cessation and preservation of evidence for representations related to your activities (e.g., fake advisors, identity theft).
Concrete examples:
Prohibited: Using a deepfake of a celebrity to promote a product without their consent.
Prohibited: Sending an advertising email with a customer's photo without their consent.
Prohibited: Calling consumers with a cloned voice of a personality to sell a service.
Implementation or strengthening of consent processes and evidence archiving.
Additional checks on campaigns (including AI content).
Possible costs for removal/moderation in case of an order.
For platforms and hosts
Internal processes to quickly comply with orders and freeze evidence.
For the State
Increased enforcement resources at the CPO and AMF.
Amount of sanctions
The bill provides for criminal and administrative sanctions but does not specify the exact amounts here. They will arise from the CPA and its regulations. No publicly available information.