The Audiovisual Council of Catalonia has called for a specific regulation for influencers who have between 100,000 and 2 million followers and who, with the current regulations, are not obliged to register in the state registry of content creators. The body maintains that this void leaves an important part of the digital sector in Catalonia out of control.
The petition is based on a study carried out on 40 profiles of content creators born or with roots in Catalonia. The analysis reviewed 411 videos published in November 2025 to evaluate both the presence of advertising and the type of messages disseminated.
Unidentified advertising in most commercial content
Of the total videos examined, 56.2% do not include advertising and 39.4% do incorporate it. In another 4.4% it could not be determined if the appearance of a product or a brand responded to a commercial interest.
The report focuses on the identification of these sponsored contents. Among the videos with advertising, 58% do not include any indication about their commercial nature. Another 15.4% indicates it incorrectly, either due to lack of visibility or by using inadequate terms. Only 26.6% identifies it correctly.
The CAC concludes that 73.4% of videos with advertising do not adequately identify their commercial nature or do so insufficiently. Based on these data, the body considers that Spanish regulation is insufficient for a part of creators with great capacity for influence.
A legal vacuum for profiles outside of the state registry
Spanish legislation only obliges creators who exceed 1 million followers on a single platform, 2 million across all social networks, or income exceeding 300,000 euros per year to register in the state registry of Users of Special Relevance.
According to the CAC, this framework excludes numerous profiles with a high audience and continuous commercial activity. The president of the body, Xevi Xirgo, warns of a "deregulated space" for these influencers who do not reach the current thresholds.
"It cannot be that thousands of content creators remain in an unregulated space, and even less so in Catalonia, where the CAC has insistently claimed competencies in the digital environment" - Xevi Xirgo, president of the CAC
Xirgo also maintains that the study evidences the need for a new regulatory framework for those who remain on the margins of the requirements currently in force.
Gender stereotypes, physical ideal and presence of alcohol
The study also analyzes content beyond advertising. In 4 out of every 10 videos, gender stereotypes appear, especially directed towards women. In parallel, 32.4% of the reviewed material contains a message that promotes an ideal of physical beauty based on normalized bodies, predominantly oriented towards the female audience.
Regarding consumption habits, 7.1% of the videos show visible consumption of alcoholic beverages, generally in leisure and socialization contexts. The CAC understands that this presence reinforces a positive representation of consumption.
12.4% of the videos also include foods high in fats, salt, or sugars. In one out of every four of those videos, the message is specifically directed at minors.