IOSCO demands tighter scrutiny over the 'finfluencers'
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) believes the regulators on both national and international levels need more power to address increasing risks and challenges from the “digitalization of retail marketing and distribution.”
In its report, published on Oct. 12, IOSCO proposes measures for the member countries to consider when determining their policy and enforcement approaches to retail online offerings and marketing, given the new challenges that rise with the proliferation of crypto assets.
Talking about these risks, the report focuses on the use of behavioral and gamification techniques and pays special attention to influencers who participate in crypto marketing, calling them “finfluencers.” Another concept the report quotes is the “digital veil.” According to the IOSCO Secretary General, Martin Moloney:
The measures themselves are hardly new. IOSCO proposes to oblige the management of the crypto products to take responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided to potential investors on social media and apply “appropriate filtering mechanisms” for financial consumer onboarding.
The set of supervisory capacities that IOSCO recommends for the national regulators to acquire includes regulatory channels to report consumer complaints for misleading and illegal promotions and evidence-tracking processes to cope with the fast pace and changing nature of online information.
More intriguing is the possible legal obligation for the crypto companies to have specific staff qualification and licensing requirements for online marketing staff, which IOSCO also suggests.
Another proposed measure is compliance with third-country regulations — while conducting its services to foreign
Read more on cointelegraph.com
