European and Hungarian regulatory approaches to online influencers

Abstract The article examines the European and Hungarian legal frameworks concerning influencers. With the rise of social media and influencer marketing, clarifying the legal and ethical issues related to the activities of opinion leaders has become increasingly important. Although there is no uniform legislation on influencers in Hungary, the Hungarian Competition Authority and other regulatory bodies have issued several recommendations to ensure transparency in advertising. This article compares Hungarian regulatory solutions against the corresponding practices in other European countries. The fi ndings show that the role of influencers is continuously expanding, which requires a dynamic development of the legal environment and a fi ne-tuning of the regulations to ensure transparency and consumer protection.