Influencers in France: behind the millions of views, a worrying dependence on platforms

In fifteen years, video content creation, which was once a simple hobby, has become a veritable industry in France, structured around more than 150,000 professional creators. Yet, behind the billions of cumulative views and well-known success stories, the economic model rests on a fragile balance.

In an opinion published this Wednesday, the Competition Authority makes a stark assessment, stating that content creators find themselves in a situation of "structural dependence" on major platforms.

This analysis directly questions the functioning of an ecosystem dominated by a few key players.

A market concentrated around four giants

According to the institution, the sector is currently concentrated around YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch. These platforms structure access to audience, monetization, and visibility.

The Competition Authority, which took up the case on its own initiative in May 2024, heard testimony from both the platforms and several major figures in the French landscape, such as Squeezie, Maghla, EnjoyPhoenix, HugoDécrypte, and Inoxtag. While these creators capture a large share of the audience and revenue, they too acknowledge the weakness of their bargaining power. The balance of power is asymmetrical, because for a creator, access to platforms is essential for economic survival. Conversely, each creator represents only a marginal share of a platform's overall revenue.

This dependence translates into unilaterally set rules, such as the conditions for accessing monetization, the eligibility thresholds, the sharing of advertising revenue, and the methods for promoting content.

Opaque monetization and algorithms under scrutiny…

Beyond revenue sharing, the Competition Authority points to the opacity of recommendation mechanisms.

Algorithms, the true conductors of visibility, are still widely perceived as “black boxes.” Thus, a change in the rules for promoting content can lead to a sudden drop in audience, without any explanation.

Moderation measures are also under scrutiny, with the Union of Influencers and Content Creators reporting content removals or account sanctions without clear justification, fueling a sense of arbitrariness.

Recommendations soon to be imposed on platforms?

In its opinion, the Competition Authority makes several recommendations, calling for greater transparency on remuneration rules, better explainability of algorithms, and guarantees regarding the fairness of conditions for access to monetization.

It also warns of the risks of favoritism, particularly towards content that is more lucrative for the platform or generated by artificial intelligence, arguing for their clear identification.

Through this opinion, the Competition Authority highlights a paradox in a sector whose economic foundations rest on a structural dependence that could, in the long run, reshape the relationship between platforms and creators.