Could influencers in Russian job scams face consequences? ‘Depends on what they know’ – Rorke Wilson, digital law expert

702’s John Perlman speaks with Rorke Wilson, a digital law expert at the Digital Law Company.

Listen below:

The rules and regulations around influencer advertising have been in the spotlight this week following concerns over potential global employment scams.

It is alleged that several TikTok influencers have been promoting a job programme in Russia, which some have claimed has human trafficking links.

RELATED: Job opportunity or human trafficking? 947’s Anele and The Club call Russian recruitment scheme

The government has warned against these scams, adding that it would be handing over a list of names of the influencers promoting the programme to law enforcement.

RELATED: Government warns of Russian job scam targeting young South African women: 'We are extremely worried'

Wilson says, despite the gravity of the story, there is a big grey area around whether these influencers can be held accountable for their roles in the scheme.

The lack of strict laws around influencer marketing makes this a challenging case.

It will most likely rely on common law, the principles of negligence, he adds.

“It depends on how much these influencers knew... it appears that some influencers were reporting directly, creating videos at the facility.” 

– Rorke Wilson, Digital Law Company 

“If they did a quick Google [search] of this company, they would have seen many other reports… on the dodgy practitioners of Alabuga… there could be a case there…” 

– Rorke Wilson, Digital Law Company 

“The main takeaway… be suspicious of what happens online, no matter how many followers someone has..."

– Rorke Wilson, Digital Law Company 

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.