On May 15, Aidos Sarym, a deputy of the parliament's lower house, revealed plans to develop a bill on online platforms and online advertising, introducing the term ‘influencer’ into the national legislation, QazMonitor reports citing Zakon.
According to him, current legal relations in this area lie in the gray, leading to rampant fraudulent activities such as pyramid schemes and illegal charity. Sarym stated that introducing the concept of an influencer will help to regulate these issues, as it will provide a legal framework regarding people who have a large social support base and make money by selling goods using social credit.
The deputy explained that influencers will have to pay taxes and mark paid content accordingly.
"There is a tax base and the issues of justice and credibility. We have to protect our citizens since many of them lose their money in pyramid schemes and other fraudulent activities. A blogger must have an account, and the tax inspector should verify that the money is being deposited there," said Sarym clarifying those accounts should comply with tax law.
The bill also establishes the framework for such notions as 'inaccurate information' and 'inappropriate information'. The draft outlines a penalty for misinformation in the range of 2 Monthly Calculation Indexes (as of May 15, 2023, it amounts to ₸6,900 or about $15.30). The legislators also want to codify the concepts of 'native advertising' and 'targeted advertising'.
In addition, the deputies want online platforms to have systems for automatic translation of content into the Kazakh language, and to enable content moderation in the language.