A. Overview

SECTION A OVERVIEW

 

Updates since July 2022 (slimmed)

Commission guidance reduced prices 

Financial Penalties Upon Influencers July 2022

UOKIK Recommendations Influencer Advertising (EN)

Above 26/9/2022

UOKIK Tool for tagging ads; Oct 2022

More Influencer guidance from UOKIK (EN)

Wardyński & Partners/ Lex November 3, 2022

EU green claims regulation December 2022

Omnibus Directive implementation; e-commerce rules

Above from Taylor Wessing December 2022

Unfair Competition - How To Deal With It? Part 3

Squire Patton Boggs March 28, 2023

The DSA in Poland and EU June 7, 2023 

'Surreptitious' advertising fined by UOKIK (EN)

Above EN from UOKIK 28 August, 2023

Links reviewed Nov 2023; 2 links renewed

Regulatory focus on greenwashing

Osborne Clarke April 18, 2024

DLA Piper Environmental Advertising Claims Guide

Above from August 7, 2024 includes Poland

 

INFLUENCER IDENTIFICATION 

 

UOKIK: Omnibus Directive, the regulation of influencer marketing and dark patterns

Osborne Clarke September 26, 2023/ Lex

Polish regulator zeros in on influencers - 2022-2023 developments in a nutshell. Bird & Bird LLP/ Lex Sept 22, 2023

And a further follow-up is news from Osborne Clarke/ Lex September 5, 2023 of heavy fines handed out to transgressors

A follow-up from UOKIK to the below is the announcement Oct 2022 (EN) of a new AR tool for tagging ads

UOKIK Recommendations Influencer Advertising (EN) announced 26/9/22

Above is link to UOKIK news story, full recommendations here (EN) and GALA/ Lex commentary here 

 

UOKIK, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, announced October 2021 an investigation into the activities of Influencers on social media platforms. Their research 'shows that a lot of commercial content on influencer profiles on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or other social media sites is not labelled as advertising at all. Other is marked insufficiently, e.g. only by the hashtag #ad, which may be incomprehensible to Polish internet users.' New guidelines are threatened and fines for those transgressing. ‘We want to introduce order to the market of sponsored content in social media.’ The result of UOKIK's intervention is reported here, a July 2022 piece from GALA/ Mondaq which sets out how six decisions have been made and penalties applied to Influencers amounting to 30,000 euros, notwithstanding the right of appeal. See announcement above.

 

SELF-REGULATION

 

The Polish Self-Regulatory Organisation Rada Reklamy (RR) Code of Ethics in Advertising (PO; RR EN) is based on the ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code (ICC Code) and covers all advertising except for social (non-profit) and political campaigns. The Polish Direct Marketing Association SMB also administer a Code of Ethics (PO) and manage the Robinson List. The Code of Good Practice in Mobile Advertising PO / EN, assembled by mobile operators in conjunction with IAB Poland, sets out rules for SMS/MMS/wap-push, as well as e.g. banner ads on mobile pages. 

 

MARCOMS CONTENT LEGISLATION 

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices POEN (inc. 2022 amends) implements the UCP Directive 2005/29/EC and applies to B2C practices. The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN (note on translation here) protects businesses from acts of unfair competition (art. 3.1), implementing the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC. In broadcast, the key Broadcasting Act is shown below under channel legislation. This act includes some content as well as placement rules, the former of which are spelt out in our following section B and also found here in English. Article 16b reflects the content rules established in the AVMS Directive related to the protection of minors, discrimination, and e.g. the 'encouragement of behaviour prejudicial to health, safety or environmental protection.' This article from GALA/ Mondaq in February 2022 Controversial Advertising sets out the legislative backdrop in the context of some Polish brands taking a stance on some of the higher profile social issues.

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices was amended by the Act of December 1, 2022 amending the Act on consumer rights and certain other acts (PO) and effective January 1, 2023. This act transposed into the UCPA's articles 5, 6 and 7 requirements of Directive 2019/2161 relating to search rankings, consumer reviews and the 'internationalisation' of campaigns Directive's clause prohibits any marketing of a good, in one Member State, as being identical to a good marketed in other Member States, while that good has significantly different composition or characteristics, unless justified by legitimate and objective factors. Not all specific to marketing communications, but significant context. The UCPA's consolidated text is here in Polish. There's a helpful December 2022 piece from Taylor Wessing on the implementation in English and Polish here and A new reality dawns for Polish e-commerce from Osborne Clarke/ Lex January 2023 covers similar territory but adds some UOKIK investigations and EU work. Penalties for companies publishing false reviews from Bird&Bird/ Lex Jan 2023 shows the impact of the new legislation as applied by UOKIK.

 

Channel legislation

 

Electronic communications and privacy

Privacy Sandbox news and updates

Q&A: protecting privacy and confidentiality in Poland
SKP Ślusarek Kubiak Pieczyk June 10, 2024

 

The Telecommunications Act 2004 PO / EN implements the ‘Cookie Directive’ 2009/136/EC; the new Personal Data Protection Act of May 10th 2018 PO / EN (link temporarily bust) implements/ recognises the GDPR and its accompanying Directive 2016/680. The Data Protection Authority is UODO;  their Ten Tips on GDPR are here (EN), albeit written for the consumer. The Law on Providing Services by Electronic Means 2002 (LPSEM) PO / EN implements the e-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC and elements of the e-Privacy Directive 2002/58/EC. These three national Acts, with the GDPR, form the core legislation in the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy. The rules impose information obligations on data controllers, confer the right to opt out of direct marketing, and regulate unsolicited marcoms via different media channels: the opt-in rule generally applies, with the exception of direct postal mail. The European Data Protection Board published April 2021 Guidelines 8/2020 on the targeting of social media users (EN). Rules by channel in our following section C.

 

Broadcasting/ AV

The Broadcasting Act of 29 December 1992 PO / EN (GRS EN), incorporating rules from the AVMS Directive 2010/13/EU, regulates advertising, teleshopping, PP, and sponsorship on TV, Radio, and VOD. The Amend to the Broadcasting Act of 11th August 2021 (PO) transposing Directive 2018/1808 came into force primarily on November 1st 2021. For our purposes, the most significant aspects of the amend which, broadly, extends the scope of the AVMSD online, are requirements for video-sharing platforms, set out here by Hogan Lovells/ Lexology. This Liability Of Video-Sharing Platform Providers Under The New Rules November 2021 from GALA/ Mondaq lifts the bonnet on this legislation. The regulatory authority is The National Broadcasting Council KKRiT

 

SPECIFIC CLAIM AREAS
Environmental claims

 

The end of greenwashing in the EU?
Wardyński & Partners May 9, 2024

Code of ethics in advertising expanded (PL) March 1, 2023

Proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. March 22, 2023

European Commission press release on the above here 

Helpful summary and commentary here from GALA/Lex also March 22

 

The RR Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN) includes Chapter V Advertisements Containing Ecological Information, closely aligned with Chapter D Environmental Claims from the ICC’s Advertising and Marketing Communications Code (EN) and updated/ expanded March 2023. Additional guidance on the use of environmental claims can be found in the ICC Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications (November 2021). Claims may be assessed against the Unfair Commercial Practices Act UCPA (referenced above); refer to Commission Guidance on application of the UCPD (December 2021) Section 4.1.1. on environmental claims. The WFA launched their Planet Pledge in April 2021 and Global Guidance on Environmental Claims April 2022. On 7 October 2021, Google launched a policy for Google advertisers, publishers and YT creators that prohibits ads/ monetization for content that contradicts consensus around climate change; more hereSee also Rada Reklamy's Green Project. This January 2023 piece Greenwashing: How to communicate without misleading? from Wardyński & Partners/ Lex covers the activity of the Polish regulator (UOKIK) and some practical guidance. DLA Piper's August 2024 Environmental Advertising Claims Guide includes Poland in its comprehensive coverage.

 

Pricing

 

Pricing in advertising is often a source of complaint, both consumer and competitor, and sometimes litigation. It’s best to check prices in ads, especially new ads, with legal advisors

 

There are some new requirements on the transposition of Directive 2019/2161/EU, known as the Omnibus Directive, which makes a number of amends to Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU. Article 2 of the Directive, introducing article 6a into Directive 98/6/EC (the Product Pricing Directive) covers price reduction 'announcements’, which includes advertising. This September 2021 article from GALA/ Mondaq set out the implications for Polish law. Commission guidance on the article 6a is here. Transposition effective January 1, 2023 happened via the Act of December 1, 2022 amending the Act on consumer rights and certain other acts (PO). Those 'certain other acts' include the Law of 9th May 2014 on Information on Prices of Goods and Services PO; article 4 of that act is replaced by new provisions which reflect the directive's requirements to list the lowest price that was applied during the 30-day period before a reduction was introduced, in addition to the new price; consolidated text in Polish is here.

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices includes a number of references to pricing in B2C communications, e.g. in relation to ‘bait and switch' advertising; see articles 7.5 and 7.6 UCPA (EN inc. 2022 amends). The information obligations under article 6.4 UCPA when advertising constitutes an ‘invitation to purchase’ are also relevant. Rada Reklamy’s Code of Ethics in Advertising contains provisions relating to price: articles 45 Direct marketing; 51 Sales promotions; 11.4 Comparative advertising; 10.1.b Misleading advertising. Details in our following section B.

CJEU case 

 

The CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) judgement in the 2016 Citroën/ZLW case ruled that the final price including VAT and all other price components must be stated, applying Product Price Directive 98/6/EC, which confirms that the selling price should include VAT and Excise Tax. 

 

Children

 

See our home page for the sector in full, and point 1.3 in the following content section B

 

In September 2019 the Children’s Protection Charter was established under the auspices of Rada Reklamy, the Self-Regulatory Organisation. The charter, applicable to signatories, includes rules on e.g. children in the making of commercials. It's set out under Appendix 3 of the Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN), which also carries rules for marcoms to children and young people under Chapter IV.

 

 

 

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B. Content Rules

SECTION B CONTENT RULES

 

 

This section is longer than most. To help navigate it, some of the text is 'anchored' and linked to respective headings immediately below

 

  1. SELF-REGULATION 

1.1. Basic principles of advertising 

1.2. Advertising addressed to children and young people

1.3. Environmental Advertising 

1.4. Direct marketing

 

  1. LEGISLATION

2.1. Unfair Commercial Practices Act 

2.2. Unfair Competition Act

2.3. Broadcasting Act

 

  1. SPECIFIC CLAIM AREAS

3.1. Environmental claims

3.1.1. Self-regulation (national)

3.1.2. International self-regulation

3.1.3. Horizontal legislation and guidance

3.1.4. Comparative claims
 

3.2. Pricing

3.2.1. Self-regulation (RR Code of Ethics)

3.2.2. Applicable legislation

3.2.3. Key points from Citroën/ ZLW case

 

 

I. SELF-REGULATION

 

Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising PO / EN 

Articles 1 and 2 Scope and article 3 Definitions  (link)

 

1.1. Basic principles of advertising 

 

  1. Discrimination. Advertising must not contain any form of discrimination, in particular that based upon race, religion, sex or national origin
  2. Violence. Advertising should not contain any elements encouraging to acts of violence, including hate speech
  3. Anxiety. Without justifiable reasons based, for example, on social grounds and prophylaxis (treatment of disease), advertisements should not motivate for purchase of a product by taking advantage of misfortunes or by causing anxiety or fear
  4. Historical objects. Advertising should not be operated in such a way as to endanger artistic or historical objects, whether tangible or intangible
  5. Exploitation. Advertising cannot abuse the trust of the recipient or exploit the recipient's lack of experience or knowledge
  6. Identification. Advertiser, promoter, operator and media, each of them only within the scope of its activities related to advertising, will obey the rule that every recipient of advertising made or distributed with its participation should be able to identify that a particular message is an advertisement.
 

 10. Misleadingness

 

1. Advertisements should not mislead their recipients, in particular with regard to:

 
  1. important characteristics such as nature, composition, method and date of manufacture, range of use, quantity, origin (also geographical) of the advertised item
  2. value of the product and the total price actually to be paid for the product as well as other payment conditions like instalment sales, leasing, credit sales, bargain sales
  3. terms of delivery, exchange, return, repair and maintenance
  4. guarantee terms
  5. intellectual and industrial property rights such in particular patents, names, trademarks, and industrial designs and models
  6. official permits or approvals, awards, prizes, medals, and diplomas
  7. the extent of the entrepreneur’s benefits for charitable causes
  8. specific advantages of the product if the advantage consists exclusively in the compliance with minimum legal requirements
 

2. Data as well as scientific terms, quotations from technical or scientific publications not considered data within the meaning of the Code, used in advertisements, must indicate their source and cannot be used in a misleading manner. The data must be presented correctly from the methodological point of view. Presentation of statistical data must in particular take into account the rules of statistical inference, including the phenomenon of statistical error

 

11. Comparative advertising

 

1. Comparative advertising is not contrary to social conventions if it meets the following conditions altogether:
 

  1. it is not a misleading advertisement
  2. it compares goods or services meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose in a fair and verifiable manner on the basis of objective criteria
  3. it objectively compares one or more relevant, characteristic, verifiable and typical features of these goods and services, which may include price
  4. it does not cause confusion in the market in terms of distinguishing between the advertiser and its competitor, or between their goods or services, trademarks, business designation or other distinctive marks
  5. it does not discredit the goods, services, activity, trademarks, business designation or other distinctive marks, as well as the circumstances of a competitor
  6. for goods with a protected geographical indication or protected designation of origin it always refers to goods with the same indication
  7. it does not unfairly exploit the reputation of a competitor’s trademark, business designation or other distinctive mark, or a protected geographical indication or protected designation of origin of competing products
  8. it does not present the goods or services as an imitation or copy of goods or services bearing a protected trademark, protected geographical indication or protected designation of origin or other distinctive mark.
 
 12. Consent to portrayal
 
  1. Advertisements should not portray or refer to any natural person, including a person generally known in connection, for example, with performing by such person public functions, without obtaining such person’s prior consent, and should not describe or refer to a property of a specific person without such person’s consent, in a way likely to convey the impression of the personal endorsement by such person
  2. The provisions of paragraph 1 above shall apply per analogy to entities other than natural persons
 
 
  1.  Warranties. If the advertisement contains information on a guarantee in extent and within the meaning contained in legally binding terms of sale, it must be available at a point of sale or enclosed with the product and will be transferred to the beneficiary
  2. Credit. Presentation of instalment sale, the credit terms or other forms of consumers’ credit must be so framed as not to raise doubts concerning the actual final price of the advertised item, including the amount of cash payment, the amount of advance payment, the interest rate, the credit instalment repayment dates, and other conditions related to that kind of sale
  3. Loans. Advertisements informing on money loan offers should not contain any statements likely to mislead the recipients, in particular as to their kind, indispensable security, repayment dates, actual interest costs, and any other possible fees
  4. Investments. Advertisements referring to savings or investing methods cannot contain any statements likely to mislead the recipients in particular with respect to the estimated future income, factors affecting the level of such income, and the possible tax reductions
  5. Free. Advertisements which may make the recipient believe it is not necessary to pay for the product if such product is not actually available free of charge cannot be used
  6. Franchises. 1. Advertisements of franchisers searching for franchisees should not, directly or by implication, mislead as to the scope of help provided, potential payment, work contribution and essential financial assets. The franchiser’s full name and permanent address should be stated
    2. The provisions of paragraph 1 above shall be applicable to advertisements aimed at entering into legal or factual relations with the nature similar in effects to franchise
  7. Risk of harm. Advertisements of products which used in a proper way may cause real danger should clearly point out the potential danger related to their use
  8. Documentation. The data, recommendations, commercial offers, information, or clarifications concerning the product should be appropriately documented. The documents should be made available on the beneficiary’s demand
  9. Animal rights. Advertisements should not promote attitudes that question the rights of animals. Advertisements containing image of animals should be self-restrained, so animals are not portrayed in a way that suggests non-humanitarian treatment of them

 

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1.2. Advertising addressed to children and young people; Chapter IV, articles 22-32 from the Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN)

 

 

In September 2019 the Children’s Protection Charter, applicable to its signatories, was established and is set out under Appendix 3 to the Code of Ethics. It includes e.g. some rules for producing commercials with child actors. Rules for Children’s marcoms can also be found on the home page of this website

 

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1.3.  Environmental Advertising; Chapter V, articles 33-42 of the Code of Ethics linked above; articles shown below under specific claim areas, environmental claims

 

 

1.4. Direct marketing articles 45-48 of the Code of Ethics in Advertising 

See also the DM header under our following channel section C

 

2. LEGISLATION

 

  • While advertising regulation is largely a self-regulatory system, legislation plays a part in channel rules especially, but also in advertising content. Issues around unfair commercial practices and comparative advertising in particular can end up in the courts, so it’s best to know what the statutes say, albeit rules are largely echoed in self-regulation
  • There are three principal legislative influences on marcoms content in Poland; key clauses from each are shown as downloadable files in order to avoid this section becoming too long, and because self-regulation largely covers the bases

 

2.1. The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN  (inc. 2022 amends)

The above linked files include amends resulting from the transposition of Omnibus Directive 2019/2161 and therefore carry provisions related to search rankings, consumer reviews and 'internationalisation' of campaigns. This law also carries provisions from transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive UCPD 2005/29/EC and therefore forms the core legislation in B2C marketing 

 

2.2. The Unfair Competition Act - UCA PO / EN (translation note here

This act protects businesses from unfair trading, transposing the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive MACAD 2006/114/EC​. The above translation carries more provisions but is somewhat dated. The key clauses for our purposes are those related to comparative advertising, shown in English here:
http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POGenUCAUnfairCompBL.pdf

 

2.3. The Broadcasting Act (BA; Arts 16.1; 16b; 16c)

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POBroadcastingActWRversionb.pdf (EN key clauses)

This act transposes the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU and therefore carries the marcoms rules related to minors, discrimination, subliminal advertising etc. that are set out below. See final para in this section re amends related to the extension of scope into video-sharing platforms

 

 

TV/ Radio; covering advertising, teleshopping, PP, sponsorship

 

  • Commercial communications must be readily recognisable (Art. 16.1)
  • It is prohibited to broadcast commercial communications that (Art. 16b (2) BA):
     
  1. Directly exhort minors to purchase products or services
  2. Encourage minors to exert pressure upon their parents or other persons to persuade them to purchase the products or services being advertised
  3. Exploit the trust minors place in parents, teachers or other persons
  4. Unreasonably show minors in dangerous situations
  5. Are of a subliminal nature

 

  • Commercial communications must not (Art. 16b (3) BA):
     
  1. Offend against/ violate human dignity
  2. Include any discrimination on grounds of race, sex, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation
  3. Be offensive to religious or political beliefs
  4. Prejudice/ jeopardise the physical, mental or moral development of minors
  5. Encourage behaviour prejudicial to health, safety or environmental protection

 

  • Children’s programmes shall not be accompanied by commercial communications for foods or beverages containing ingredients, excessive intakes of which in the everyday diet are not recommended (Art. 16b (3a) BA)

 

The Broadcasting act was amended by the act of August 11th 2021 (PO) that transposed Directive 2018/1808; the Directive extends AVMSD rules online. Content rules are essentially unchanged and shown for the Directive here

 

3. SPECIFIC CLAIM AREAS

 

3.1. Environmental claims

 

3.1.1. Self-regulation (national)

Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising: Chapter V -Environmental Advertising

Amends from March 1, 2023. See Green Project (PO)

 

  • Advertisements cannot undermine public trust in correctly performed activities undertaken within the framework of natural environment protection Environmental advertisements must not undermine public trust in appropriately performed activities undertaken within the framework of environmental care. The message of environmental advertisements must not be factually inaccurate, unmeasurable or unverifiable.(Art. 33)
  • Advertisements cannot exploit the lack of knowledge of their recipients in the area of natural environment protection 1. Environmental advertisements should be written in an explicit, simple and understandable language. Environmental or scientific terms may be used in an environmental advertisement provided that they are material to the overall message and understandable for the average recipient. 2. Environmental advertisements relating to the future environmental impact must be based on clear, objective goals, aspirations and commitments (Art. 34)
  • Advertisements cannot contain a message which might mislead the consumers as to environmental protection, including but not limited to through misleading information on characteristics of products or on activities undertaken by the advertiser for environmental protection. Advertisements of entrepreneurs related to specific products or actions cannot without justified grounds extend the advertising effect in the area of natural environment protection to the whole business of the advertiser 1. Environmental advertisements should not present the requirements imposed by law on all products in a given product category, or any features otherwise common to all products in the same category as distinguishing features unique for the advertiser’s offer. 2. If the truthfulness of an environmental advertisement depends on the existence of certain conditions or reservations, these conditions or reservations should be indicated in the advertisement (Art. 35) 
  • An environmental claim must relate to the characteristics of the advertised product and must refer to such characteristics of such product that exist throughout the product life or periodically, but in the latter case the advertisement must inform the recipient thereof 1. Environmental advertisements should refer to a specific product or activity of the advertiser, and in its message the environmental advertisement must not extend the advertising effect to the entire activity of the advertiser in an unfounded or unverifiable manner. 2. Environmental advertisements of a product should be different from environmental advertisements relating to the advertiser’s operations, practices and sustainability policies (Art. 36)
  • Advertisements containing general phrases such as “environmentally friendly” or “ecologically safe” cannot be misleading. The information indicating the precise effect of the product in this area must be available at the point of sale, enclosed to the product or shall be presented to the beneficiary in a publicly accessible way Environmental advertisements should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, from the perspective of the recipient and taking into account the social, cultural and linguistic factors of the market in which they will be broadcast (Art. 37)
  • Article 38: 1. When advertisements refer to the reduction the quantity (number) of components or elements having an environmental impact, such information cannot be misleading. The information indicating the precise positive effect of the product in this area must be true and available at the point of sale or enclosed to the product and shall be presented to the beneficiary. 2. Advertising claims cannot refer to the absence of components, features or impacts that are not applicable to the given product category. 3. An advertising claim of “…free”, or of the same effect, should only be made when the level of the specified substance does not exceed that of an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level. 4. Environmental signs or symbols should only be used when the source of origin (granting or appointing) these signs or symbols is clearly indicated in advertisement, and there is no confusion over their meaning. Such signs and symbols should not falsely suggest that their presence is related to a decision of a government administration authority, local government authority, or other institutions the activity of which is connected with natural environment protection The environmental benefits of a given product indicated or depicted in an advertisement must be related to the product’s characteristics. Where environmental benefits relate to characteristics that occur periodically at a particular stage or stages of a product’s life cycle, the advertisement must inform the recipient thereof (Art. 38)
  • Environmental claims referring to waste handling are acceptable provided that the recommended method of separation, collection, processing or disposal is available for a significant part of the beneficiaries. Otherwise, the extent and method of obtaining access to the above-described methods should be indicated The general presentation of the subject of an environmental advertisement, its individual elements and the information on its subject may not be misleading about the existence of environmental benefits concerning the subject (Art. 39)
  • Environmental advertisements, including, without limitation, the wording used in them that refers to environmental impact, should be justified in a way that is understandable to the recipient. The justification should be based on verifiable evidence, taking into account the state of knowledge, including, without limitation, scientific or specialized knowledge, on the subject relevant to the advertisement on the date of its broadcast (Art. 40)

  • Information referring to waste management may be included in an advertisement only if the recommended waste sorting, collecting, recycling or disposal method is understandable and easily accessible for the recipient. Otherwise, the advertisement must explicitly and in an understandable manner indicate the manner and scope of access to the indicated methods. (Art. 41)

  • If environmental advertisements contain comparisons, including general comparisons or comparisons to other products, then only products or services that perform the same function may be compared. Environmental advertisements may compare one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative characteristics of these products. Environmental advertisements should indicate the comparison criteria that have been adopted. The same scientifically valid methods and criteria of comparison should be applied to assess all products being compared in a consistent manner (Art. 42)

 

3.1.2. International self-regulation

 

  • There are some international self-regulatory rules, shown in full under the International tab, that are relevant in this context. While the national codes and laws are the rules that drive requirements, and against which adjudications will be made, the ICC’s Advertising and Marketing Communications Code (EN; ICC Code) provides an important international framework, and in some countries plays the role of the national advertising code. In particular in this context, Chapter D of the code
  • The ICC Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications (November 2021) includes under Appendix I an environmental claims checklist, and updated guidance on the use of environmental claims often appearing in marketing communications

 

3.1.3. Horizontal legislation and guidance

 

The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive UCPD 2005/29/EC is transposed into Polish Law by the Unfair Commercial Practices Act UCPA PO / EN 

 

  • The UCPD applies to all claims made in B2C commercial practices, including those related to the environment
  • Competitors may challenge environmental claims as unfair commercial practices before national courts where claims are assessed against the UCPA/ D 
  • EU Compliance Criteria on Environmental Claims (2016) EN. This advice is not legally binding, but fed into the revision of the 2016 Commission Guidance, since updated per below
  • On 17 December 2021, the European Commission adopted an updated Commission Notice on the interpretation and application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (‘the UCPD Guidance’). See section 4.1.1. for Environmental claims. This document is both new as at December 2021 and the definitive guidance across commercial practices/ claim areas covered by the UCPD

3.1.4. Comparative claims

 

Product comparisons involving environmental claims should be assessed under the criteria set out by the Directive on Misleading and Comparative Advertising MACAD Article4. in Poland, article 16.3 of the Act on Combating Unfair Competition UCA) PO / EN  sets out the criteria under which comparative advertising is allowed. These criteria apply to advertisements which compare the environmental impact or benefit of different products. Under these provisions, such a comparison should therefore, among other things (see Art. 4 2006/114/EC / Art. 16.3 Polish UCA): 
 

  • Not be misleading, within the meaning of the UCPD
  • Compare goods or services meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose
  • Objectively compare one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative features of those goods and services

 

 

 

Note: stating prices correctly in advertising can be difficult from a regulatory perspective. If uncertain, check with your/ your client’s lawyers

 

3.2.1. Self-regulation

 

From the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising

 

  • Advertising must not mislead its recipients, particularly with regard to: the value of the product and the total price actually to be paid for the product as well as other payment conditions like instalment sales, leasing, credit sales, bargain sales (Art. 10.1b)
  • Comparative advertising may compare one or more characteristics if such characteristics are verifiable. Price may be one of such characteristics (Art. 11.4)
  • Direct marketing activities, including the offers related to direct marketing, should be carried out so as to be understandable for the beneficiary. In particular, the beneficiary should always be able to identify the advertised product and the terms of the offer, including the price (Art. 45 (1))
  • Sales promotions should be so devised as to make it easy for the beneficiary to identify clearly the terms of the offer. Care should be taken not to exaggerate the value of the additional benefit and the price of the main product should not be concealed by the promotional activity (Art. 51)

 

3.2.2. Applicable legislation

 

Note:  the law under the first bullet point below transposes elements of the Product Pricing Directive (PPD) 98/6/EC; in amendments from the Directive 2019/2161, the PPD incorporated a new article 6a which sets out provisions for reduced/ promotional pricing. These should come into force in member states on May 28, 2022, though at the time of writing there has been no transposition in Poland. Commission guidance for the application of the article is here

 

  • Law 9th May 2014 on informing about prices of goods and services PO article 3; the law implements the Product Price Directive 98/6/EC
  • The Unfair Commercial Practices Act UCPA PO / EN. See articles 5 and 6
  • Key case: Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU): C‑476/14 (Citroën/ZLW) Judgement and AG Opinion
  • Decisions of the President of UOKIK, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection: see two cases here

 

Other UCPA prohibitions that apply to marcoms that include prices

 

  • ‘Bait’ advertising, which involves making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he/ she will not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (Art. 7.5)
  • ‘Bait and switch’ advertising, which involves making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price, and then refusing to show the advertised item to consumers or refusing to take orders for the product or to deliver it within a reasonable time, or demonstrating a defective sample, with the intention of promoting a different product (Art. 7.6)
  • Describing a product as ‘gratis’, ‘free’, ‘without charge’ or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the direct costs of responding to the commercial practice and collecting or paying for delivery of the item (Art. 7.20)

 

3.2.3. Key points from C‑476/14 Citroën/ ZLW case

 

  • Where an advertisement mentions the price of a product, the selling price must be stated; this means the final price including VAT and include the 'unavoidable and foreseeable components of the price, components that are necessarily payable by the consumer and constitute the pecuniary consideration for the acquisition of the product concerned' (para. 37 Citroën case). Other price components = integral parts of the final price (para. 23)

 

 

 

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C. Channel Rules

1. TV/Radio/VOD

SECTION C: TV & RADIO/ AV

 

 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

  • The content rules set out in section B apply to all channels except where identified; content rules specific to broadcast are below
  • Broadcasting Act (BA) of December 29, 1992 PO; GRS translation of key provisions EN; articles 16a-c, 17, 17a, 47k
  • The above was amended by the act of August 11th 2021 (PO), which transposed Directive 2018/1808 extending AVMSD rules online and introduces transparency rules for video-sharing platforms, shown under Chapter 6b of the consolidated Broadcasting Act. Commercial communications' content rules are essentially unchanged and are shown for the Directive here (EN)
  • This article Amendment to the Broadcasting Act to take effect from Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners/ Lexology is helpful on the amends referenced above, most of which were in force November 1, 2021
  • Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 30 June 2011 (PO) on conditions of product placement; per art. 17a (9) BA
  • Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 6 July 2000 (PO) on sponsoring programme items and other broadcasts; amended by Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 27 July 2011, per art. 17 (8) BA
  • Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 30 June 2011 (PO) on principles of advertising and teleshopping in radio and television programme services; per article 16 (7) BA

 

 

KEY CLAUSES

 

  • Commercial communications must be readily recognisable (Art. 16.1). Also applicable to VOD, as per art. 47 BA
  • It is prohibited to broadcast commercial communications that (Art. 16b (2) BA):

 

  1. Directly exhort minors to purchase products or services
  2. Encourage minors to exert pressure upon their parents or other persons to persuade them to purchase the products or services being advertised
  3. Exploit the trust minors place in parents, teachers or other persons
  4. Unreasonably show minors in dangerous situations
  5. Are of a subliminal nature

 

  • Commercial communications must not (Art. 16b (3) BA):

 

  1. Offend against/ violate human dignity
  2. Include any discrimination on grounds of race, sex, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation
  3. Be offensive to religious or political beliefs
  4. Prejudice/ jeopardise the physical, mental or moral development of minors
  5. Encourage behaviour prejudicial to health, safety or environmental protection

 

  • Article 16b (3a) Children’s programmes shall not be accompanied by commercial communications for foods or beverages containing ingredients excessive intakes of which in the everyday diet are not recommended

 

 

 Product placement 

 

Radio and Television art. 17a Broadcasting Act; all applicable to VOD except Article 17a (4) BA

 

  • Product placement is only permitted (Art. 17a (1) BA):
     
  • In cinematographic works (feature films), films or series made for audiovisual media services (TV and radio), sports programmes and light entertainment programmes, or
  • Where there is no payment but only the provision of certain goods or services free of charge, such as production props and prizes, with a view to their inclusion in a programme, with the exception of children’s programmes
     
  • Product placement must not prejudice the autonomy and editorial independence of the broadcaster through its impact on contents or scheduling and must not release the broadcaster of the liability for contents of the programme (Art. 17a (4) BA)
  • Programmes that contain product placement must not (Art. 17a (5) BA):
     
  • Give undue prominence to the product in question
  • Directly encourage the purchase or rental of goods or services, in particular by making promotional references to those goods or services

 

 

Sponsorship 

 

 TV and Radio: Art. 17 Broadcasting Act (BA); National Broadcasting Council Regulations concerning sponsorship of programmes and other broadcasts; all provisions applicable to VOD, except Article 17 (paras 3 and 6) BA
 

  • Viewers/ listeners must be clearly informed about sponsoring. Sponsored programmes or other broadcasts must be identified as such by sponsor credits at the start and the end of the programme, and when a programme resumes after an advertising or teleshopping break. Such credits may specify only the sponsor’s name, business name, trademark or contain some other identification of the business operator or its business activities, a reference to its products, services or their trademark (Art. 17 (1) BA)
  • The identification of the sponsor or any component part thereof must not directly encourage the purchase or rental of goods or services, in particular by making special promotional references to those goods or services (Art. 17 (1a) BA)
  • Sponsor credits may not contain the name, business name, trademark or other individual identification of the business operator or its business operations, the image of a product or service, the advertising of which is prohibited by virtue of Article 16b Para. 1 (Art. 17 (2) BA)
  • The sponsor must not influence the content of the programme or any other broadcast and their scheduling in a manner that would prejudice the autonomy and editorial independence of the broadcaster. Sponsorship must not release the broadcaster from liability for the content of the programme (Art. 17 (3) BA)
  • Sponsored programmes or other broadcasts may not encourage the purchase or other use of the products or services of the sponsor or a third party (Art. 17 (4) BA)
  • Subject to para. 6, programmes or other broadcasts may not be sponsored by (Art. 17(5) BA):
     
  1. Political parties
  2. Trade unions
  3. Employers’ organisations
  4. Natural or legal persons whose principal operations consist in the production or sale of products or the provision of services referred to in Article 16b para. 1

 

 

SELF-REGULATION

 

 

Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising EN includes Chapter VI on Sponsorship, incorporating reference to TV and Radio broadcasting:
 

  • Sponsorship-related activities must not be misleading as to the sponsored entity, brand or other identification markings/ designations of the sponsored entity/ party/ event, in particular when the sponsored event is presented on TV or Radio (Art. 43)

 

 

 

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2. Cinema/Press/Outdoor

SECTION C: CINEMA, PRINT, OUTDOOR

 

 

All of the content rules set out in our earlier section B apply in these channels, except those specific to broadcast media; the principal code is the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising and the key legislation is the Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends)

 

PRINT

 

  • Code of Good Practice of Press Publishers PO / EN from the Polish Chamber of Press Publishers Izba Wydawców Prasy (IWP)

 

General guidelines

 

  • In advertising or promoting campaigns, the publisher shall ensure that the name, face or voice of a journalist is not used to advertise for a product or service (4.1.5)
  • Hidden advertisements, including product placement, shall be forbidden (4.1.10)

 

Forms of publication

vis. native/ advertorials

 

  • The boundary between advertising material and editorial content shall not be blurred. The form of advertising materials and publications must be such as to make their nature of advertisement or announcement obvious to the reader. Advertising materials and announcements must be clearly set apart from editorial content by graphic elements or a different typeset and labelled as ‘advertisement’ (reklama), ‘promotion’ (promocja), ‘announcement’ (ogłoszenie), ‘sponsored text’ (tekst sponsorowany) or the like, making the nature and origin of such materials obvious to the reader. In particular, any advertisements and announcements that are intended to imitate or use editorial content or the publication’s graphic layout must be rejected (Rule 4.2.2)
  • Neither the name nor the logo of an advertiser or announcer may be used on any of the pages devoted to editorial content unless they are labelled as an advertisement (reklama) or announcement (ogłoszeniem). An advertiser or announcer whose logo has been placed on a page with editorial content may not have any influence on editorial content.
  • Moreover, an advertiser or announcer’s name or logo may be placed on a page with editorial content in connection with the preparation of events under the publication’s patronage or the financing of prizes in a competition organised by an editorial office or a publisher; the advertiser or announcer must be identified as the sponsor (Rule 4.2.3)
  • An advertisement, announcement or promotion may be announced on the front page or in the table of contents of a given issue provided that it is labelled as advertisement, announcement or promotion or that it is the editorial office’s or publisher’s self-promotion (Rule 4.2.3)
 
Advertising supplements

 

  • Advertising or promotional supplements attached to a press title under contract from advertisers, including inserts, should clearly differ from editorial content and regular or occasional feature supplements by their shape, graphic layout or typeface, so that the readers may not confuse the pages with editorial content with those of such supplements. Moreover, the title or logo of the publication may not appear in such supplements. The above restrictions shall not apply to the editorial office’s or the publisher’s own promotion measures; the provisions of Rule 4.3.2., last sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis in such cases. (Rule 4.3.1)
  • To ensure clear and unambiguous identification of the advertising supplements referred to in Rule 4.3.1., they should bear a printed caption saying ‘advertisement’, ‘promotional supplement’ or ‘advertising supplement’, or be otherwise marked in a way adopted by the publisher and allowing for clear and unambiguous identification of such supplements. The above shall not apply to inserts whose shape and content clearly indicate their character and origin (e.g., supermarket offers). In the in-house feature supplements (both regular and occasional), any advertisements, announcements, sponsoring or promotions should be clearly marked in accordance with the provisions of Rule 4.2.2. (Rule 4.3.2)

 

Competitions

 

  • Whenever prizes in any competitions, lotteries or promotional gift distributions organised by the editorial office or the publisher are provided by an advertiser, an announcer or external persons, those competitions, lotteries or promotions being advertised on pages devoted to editorial content, editorial texts may not suggest that the editorial office endorses or recommends in whatever way the products or services of such advertisers, announcers or other persons (Rule 4.4.1)
  • The course of a competition organised by an editorial office or a publisher should remain under the organiser’s exclusive control; an advertiser, announcer or sponsor may not have the decisive influence upon the selection of the winner. In presenting the competition, the editorial office must take care not to imply that it favours the products or services provided by the advertisers, announcers or sponsors as prizes (Rule 4.4.2)
 

CINEMA

 

  • The Content rules set out in our earlier section B apply to marketing communications in Cinema, except those specific to broadcast

 

Associations 

 

SAWA is the Global Cinema Advertising Association, the global trade body of Cinema Advertising Companies and Associated Companies that supply services to the Cinema Advertising Industry.  Multikino (owned by Vue Entertainment Ltd) is the SAWA member in Poland; Multikino Media will handle cinema advertising sales nationwide.

Cinema City is the largest cinema operator in Poland (40% of multiplex market) followed by Multikino and Helios Cinemas; New Age Media, a subsidiary of Cinema City, provide and implement advertising campaigns of all Cinema City multiplexes

 

 

OUTDOOR

 

  • The Content rules set out in our earlier Section B apply to outdoor marketing communications, except those specific to broadcast
  • The international association for OOH advertising is the World Out Of Home Organisation (WOO); membership list here

 

 

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3. Online Commercial Communications

SECTION C: ONLINE COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS

 

 

CONTEXT

 

This section provides the broad regulatory picture for the commercial digital environment. More specific channel rules such as email, OBA etc. follow. Advertising online is subject to the rules in owned and (some) earned space as well as paid, which makes the definition of advertising Definition The Rada Reklamy definition is ‘aims to increase the sale of products, to obtain another form of using the products, or to obtain another effect desired by the advertiser. Advertising shall also include sales promotion, offers intended to the recipients in the form of direct marketing, or sponsorship.' important, especially as there is so much content in a ‘blurred’ online environment .

In this channel context, the influence of legislation is significant, particularly in the use of personal data, so relevant articles from law are referenced. The impact of GDPR is shown under individual channel sections; in broad, when processing personal data related to e.g. databases for marketing purposes, rules from the GDPR now apply in all member states. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors

 

  • Per intro above, online advertising is subject to the rules set out in content section B, except those specific to broadcasting. if it’s advertising, it’s in remit. The key set of rules is from the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising. Exemptions are under Article 3. Key in legislation is The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO/EN (2022 amends)

 

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION 

 

UOKIK Recommendations Influencer Advertising (EN) announced 26/9/22

Above is link to UOKIK news story, full recommendations here (EN) and GALA/ Lex commentary here 

 

  • As above, the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising applies to advertising as defined under article 3 and incorporates Chapter VII Direct Marketing 
  • Code of Ethics Polish Direct Marketing Association (SMB) PO / EN Chapter VI E-Commerce; Section 37 Commercial Communication
  • Code of Good Practice in Mobile Advertising PO / EN from mobile operators Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Polkomtel, Orange and P4 in conjunction with IAB Poland

 

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION 

 

Forthcoming changes regarding online advertising
Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners/ Lex June 7, 2023

 

  • If processing personal data, lawful processing rules from the GDPR may apply. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors
  • The Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means (PSEM) PO / EN (Arts. 9.1/ 9.2) implements elements of the e-Commerce 2000/31/EC and e-Privacy 2002/58/EC directives
  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends) applies to B2C commercial practices. Includes e.g. misleadingness rules and 'Invitation to purchase' requirements as well as an 'intrusion' clause under article 9/3. Transposes UCPD 2005/29/EC
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN; note on translation here, applies in B2B and in this context mainly relates to comparative advertising. Transposes the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive MACAD 2006/114/EC
  • The Broadcasting act was amended by the act of August 11th 2021 (PO) that transposed Directive 2018/1808; the Directive extends AVMSD rules online and in particular to video-sharing platforms: platforms must identify to users commercial communications in posts where known, and require the same of contributors. Content rules are essentially unchanged and shown for the Directive here
  • The DSA: Consequences of the use of digital advertising from Dentons/ Lex August 30, 2022 covers the significant implications of this EU legislation (the Digital Services Act) on the advertising industry; in force 1 January 2024

 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION 
(some translation enhanced)

 

  • The content rules from the RR Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN) are set out in our earlier section B and apply to advertising online. The code includes some channel rules under e.g. Chapter VII Direct Marketing and Chapter VI Sponsorship. Clauses are shown under the relevant specific headers that follow 

 

Sect. 38 SMB Code of Ethics: Commercial communication (Chapter VI e-Commerce)

 

  • All commercial communications should be easily recognisable as such. The person initiating such communication, whether a natural or legal person, should be easily identifiable. This rule also applies without exception to unsolicited commercial communications which are carried out by electronic mail (s. 38 (1) SMB Code)
  • All promotional offers and contests will be easily recognisable as such. The terms and conditions of participation shall be described in a clear, unambiguous and precise manner (s. 38 (2) SMB Code)
  • Internet technology should not be used to mislead customers as to the nature of a product or service in a promotion or offer. In addition, traders should not deceitfully restrict/ hamper the customer’s ability to leave the website and should make every effort to ensure that the search criteria accurately reflect the content of the site (s. 38 (3) SMB Code)
  • Comparisons of prices shall not mislead the customer. All the comparisons referring to special offers should indicate the start and end dates of such offers and any other special terms and conditions (s. 38 (3) SMB Code)

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION

 

Labelling requirement and Information obligations from the Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means:

 

  • Commercial communications must be clearly identified and marked in such a way that there is no doubt that it is a commercial communication (Art. 9.1 PSEM)
  • Commercial communications must include (Art. 9.2 (1-3) PSEM):
     
    • The name of the entity, on behalf of whom the communication is made, and its email addresses
    • Clear description of the form of promotional activities, in particular: price reductions (discounts), free benefits in cash or in kind and other benefits related to the promoted goods, service or image, as well as the clear identification of the conditions necessary to take advantage of these benefits, if they are a component of the offer
    • Any other information, which may have an impact on the extent of the responsibility of the parties, in particular warnings and restrictions

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices UCPA

 

  • The following practice may be regarded as a misleading omission: failing to disclose the commercial purpose of the practice if this is not clearly apparent from the circumstances and if this causes or may cause the average consumer to take a contractual decision which he/ she otherwise would not have taken (s. 6.3 (2) UCPA)
  • When assessing whether a commercial practice is misleading by omission all its features and circumstances related to the product launch, including its overall presentation, should be taken into account (Art. 6.5 UCPA)
  • As electronic communications will frequently include offers, information requirements from the UCPA when making an ‘Invitation to purchase' are extracted here
  • All marketing communications/ advertising content in electronic communications is subject to the UCPA rules on unfair commercial practices, especially in this context misleading or unfair actions or omissions shown under articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Act linked again here (EN key clauses)
  • The Unfair Competition Act (EN) is most relevant in this context to rules on comparative advertising; see article 16 of the UCA

 

SOME EDPB GUIDANCE

 

 

 

 

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4. Cookies & OBA

SECTION C: COOKIES AND OBA

 

 

Q&A: protecting privacy and confidentiality in Poland
SKP Ślusarek Kubiak Pieczyk June 10, 2024

The EU "Cookie Pledge" Preiskel & Co/ Mondaq 12 June 2023. Pledge here 

Meta’s Ad Practices Ruled Illegal Under E.U. Law. Jan 2023 NYT

 

Since the arrival of GDPR, we no longer set out the cookie rules for all countries/ sectors. Links to applicable legislation and self-regulation are shown below
 
APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION COOKIES 

 

  • Code of Ethics Polish Direct Marketing Association (SMB) PO / EN (Chapter VI: e-Commerce; s. 37.4). Section 37 Online transaction security. Point 4: Traders should provide customers with information which does not contain any complicated technical jargon, referring to all the technologies of collecting and searching data, not allowing the identification of specific individuals, e.g. use of cookies. Traders using technology of cookie type will notify the customers about the purpose of its use

 

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND AUTHORITIES

 

 

OBA

 

European Union: Targeted advertising on social networks: Is consent mandatory? (EN)
Haas Avocats 19 September 2023

CJEU Landmark Data Protection Ruling for Online and Behavioural Advertising

William Fry/ Lex September 8, 2023. Connects with Meta news below 

Privacy rules for targeted advertising in the UK and EU. Reed Smith/ Lex August 2023

Meta’s Ad Practices Ruled Illegal Under E.U. Law. Jan 2023 NYT
The above reported case could have very significant implications for targeted advertising

 

EU Rules on Online Targeted Advertising from Covington and Burling/ Lex August 2022 sets out the existing targeted advertising rules and the impact of the DSA, in force January 2024

Facebook's Meta to ban adverts that target people on 'sensitive topics' politics, race and sexual orientation.

Effective 19 January 2022​

 

  • In as much as data will be processed prior to the development of OBA, then GDPR lawful processing rules may apply if that data identifies individuals. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors
  • Key profiling guidance is from the Article 29 Working Party, now the European Data Protection Board, in February 2018:
    Guidelines on Automated individual decision-making and Profiling for the purposes of Regulation 2016/679
  • OBA marcoms content will be subject to the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising here; the Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends) also applies and includes a clause (article 9/3) on 'persistent and unwanted solicitations' 
  • Also applicable is the Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means (PSEM) PO / EN (articles 4-10) transposes implements elements of the e-Commerce 2000/31/EC and e-Privacy 2002/58/EC Directives; requirements for transparency and for clarity on e.g. promotional conditions are found in articles 9/1 and 9/2
  • See the International tab for details of the self-regulatory initiative for OBA, which is underpinned by IAB Europe’s OBA framework. The European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance EDAA licences the OBA Icon, a consumer-facing, interactive symbol that links consumers to an online portal, www.youronlinechoices.eu, where they can find information on OBA and a mechanism for exercising informed choice
  • IAB Poland replicate the IAB Europe OBA Framework - PO, which will apply to all 3rd parties involved in OBA, and manage the Polish version of the ‘Your Online Choices Consumer Choice platform’:
    http://www.youronlinechoices.com/pl/

 

 

 

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5. Emails & SMS

SECTION C: DIRECT ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

 

 

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION 

 

  • Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising PO / EN applies to advertising as defined under article 3 and incorporates Chapter VII Direct Marketing 
  • Code of Ethics Polish Direct Marketing Association SMB PO / EN (Chapter VI: e-Commerce; s. 37.1 in Polish version, 38.1 in English version; new email section 33 here)
  • Code of Good Practice in Mobile Advertising PO / EN from mobile operators Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Polkomtel, Orange and P4, in conjunction with IAB Poland

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION 

 

  • The Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means (PSEM) PO / EN (articles 4-10) transposes implements elements of the e-Commerce 2000/31/EC and e-Privacy 2002/58/EC Directives
  • See this November 2021 judgement from CJEU re unsolicited 'Inbox advertising' and related article from GALA/ Lex here 
  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends) applies to B2C commercial practices; includes e.g. misleadingness rules and 'Invitation to purchase' requirements as well as an 'intrusion' clause under article 9. Transposes UCPD 2005/29/EC
  • GDPR 2016/679: if data processing identifies individuals, then GDPR lawful processing rules may apply. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors
  • The Personal Data Protection Act of May 10th 2018 PO / EN (link temporarily bust) implements/ recognises the GDPR and its accompanying Directive 2016/680. GDPR applies directly in all member states

 

SOME EDPB GUIDANCE

 

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION 

 

B2C: Opt-in regime

 

  • Direct marketing by email is permitted if the recipient has given his/ her prior consent to receiving such emails, in particular, by disclosing his/ her email address for that purpose (Art. 10 (1)/(2) PSEM)
  • Consent cannot be presumed or implied and can be revoked at any time. The sender must also be able to provide proof of consent (Art. 4 PSEM)
  • Making persistent and unwanted solicitations by email is considered an aggressive thus unfair commercial practice under article 9 (3) UCPA, confirmed by article 10.3 PSEM

 

Information requirements

 

  • As Direct email will frequently include offers, information requirements from the UCPA when making an ‘Invitation to purchase' are extracted here
  • All marketing communications/ advertising content in direct electronic media  is subject to the UCPA rules on unfair commercial practices, especially in this context misleading or unfair actions or omissions shown under articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Act linked again here 
 

The sender must provide the recipient with (Art. 5.2 PSEM):

 

  • His/ her electronic email addresses
  • His/ her name, surname, a place of residence and an address, or its name or a firm, headquarters and address

 

The sender must also clearly identify (Art. 9.1 & 9.2(1-3) PSEM)

 

  • The commercial communication as such; it must be clearly defined and marked in a manner that doesn’t leave any doubt that it is a commercial communication
  • The entity on behalf of whom the commercial communication is made, providing name and email addresses
  • Promotional offers and activities (in particular price reductions), free benefits in cash or in kind and other benefits related to the promoted goods, service or image, as well as the conditions for participation
  • Any other information which may have an impact on the extent of liability of the parties, in particular, warnings and restrictions

 

B2B: Provisions from PSEM above on direct marketing by e-mail are not applicable to corporate subscribers. Article 10 only applies to 'natural persons'. Opt-in applies for email addresses which clearly identify an individual (e.g. tim.burton@wikiregs.com). However, for generic email addresses (info@wikiregs.com), opt-out principle will apply (source: FEDMA)

 
 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION

 

  • SMB Code: All commercial communications should be easily recognisable as such. The person initiating such communication, whether a natural or legal person, should be easily identifiable. This rule also applies without exception to unsolicited commercial communications which are carried out by electronic mail (s. 37 (1) SMB Code) 
  • New email section (33) of the SMB Code here (EN)
  • Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN): Chapter VII Direct Marketing, articles 45-48 , applicable to B2C and B2B:
 
  • 1. Direct marketing activities, including the offers related to direct marketing, should be carried out so as to be understandable for the beneficiary. In particular, the beneficiary should always be able to identify the advertised product and the terms of the offer, including the price. 2. The beneficiary of an offer delivered within the framework of direct marketing should always be able to identify such offer as an advertisement. An offer may easily be mistaken for a bill or an invoice should not be made. 3. An offer delivered within the framework of direct marketing must clearly indicate what liabilities will be imposed on the beneficiary upon offer acceptance. 4. The information transferred within the framework of direct marketing, which has an effect on the beneficiary’s decision (e.g. payment terms, making returns, and waivers of the agreement), must be transferred in such a manner and within such time to make it possible for the beneficiary to take such information into account before accepting the offer. 5. No products for which a payment is requested without prior ordering of such products can be offered within the framework of direct marketing (Art. 45)
  • 1. An offer delivered within the framework of direct marketing cannot be misleading in particular with respect to the true sizes, value, nature, durability, appearance, and technical potential of the product advertised, and if: a) additional accessories are necessary for: (i) using the product or (ii) obtaining the described or demonstrated effect, this must be clearly stated, b) the offer is applicable to separately sold products, this should be unequivocally stated. 2. If an offer delivered within the framework of direct marketing contains a proposal of, for example, “free examination” or “free trial” of a product, then the offer must contain the terms of such use, including but not limited to the information on who bears the costs of product return and time limitations in its use. 3. An offer delivered within the framework of direct marketing must contain information on when the seller and the advertiser may be contacted so as to enable the beneficiary to directly and effectively contact them. At the moment of delivery of the product the beneficiary must be informed on complete names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the seller and the advertiser (Art. 46)
  • 1. Within the framework of direct marketing, offers must be made so as to respect the privacy of the beneficiary. 2. If personal data are collected within the framework of direct marketing, the beneficiary must be clearly informed thereof, with indication of the scope of processing of such data. The collection, storage, and use of data must be compliant with the Personal Data Protection Act. 3. The beneficiary of offers received within the framework of direct marketing, including but not limited to offers received with the use of addressed mails, non-addressed prints, telephones, telephone text and multimedia messages (e.g. SMSs, MMSs, etc.), faxes, e-mail or other methods of addressed online communications must be able to verify the sender of such an offer, and where applicable also the source from which the beneficiary’s data originate. 4. The promoter must comply with beneficiaries’ demands if they wish not to receive offers delivered within the framework of direct marketing, including but not limited to addressed mails, non-addressed prints, telephones, telephone text and multimedia messages (e.g. SMSs, MMSs, etc.), faxes, e-mail or other methods of addressed online communications, by cessation of delivery of such offers. The beneficiary may express his will not to receive the mails from the specific promoter by transferring to such promoter the respective request. The beneficiary may also express his wish not to receive the mails of the specific type by registering himself on the appropriate preference list or by displaying at the place of delivery of mails the information on such request (Art. 47)

 

 

  • Code of Good Practice in Mobile Advertising PO / EN; applicable to push ads SMS/ MMS. Point 8: SMS Spam Policy: Five principles of anti-spam policy in mobile advertising

 

 

 

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6. Own Websites & SNS

SECTION C: MARKETERS' OWN WEBSITES

 

 

CONTEXT

 

The same principle that applies in paid space also applies in owned, such as marketers’ own websites and SNS spaces: if the communication from the owner is advertising, it’s in remit. Advertising is defined in the applicable RR Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN) as a ‘message …. which aims to increase the sale of products, to obtain another form of using the products, or to obtain another effect desired by the advertiser. Advertising shall also include sales promotion, offers intended to the recipients in the form of direct marketing, or sponsorship.' Clearly, much content on owned websites won’t be advertising; for clarification of exemptions, e.g. UGC, see the EASA Recommendation linked below. Issues arise from the introduction of the GDPR 2016/679 from May 25, 2018: in the event that data processing (which may include cookies) identifies individuals, then lawful processing rules from the GDPR may apply. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors.

 

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION

 

  • If processing personal data, lawful processing rules from the GDPR may apply 
  • Cookies: Telecommunications Act PO / EN (Art. 173 paras 1-3 implements the Cookie Directive 2009/136/EC via amendment article 1 (122) of the Act of 16 November 2012 
  • e-Commerce: the Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means (PSEM) PO / EN (Arts. 9.1/ 9.2)
  • As with all media, that which qualifies as advertising on Marketers' Own Websites will also be subject to The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends), which implements the UCP Directive 2005/29/EC and applies to B2C practices; in December 2022 the law was amended to incorporate provisions from the Omnibus Directive 2019/2161 which include inter alia new requirements on search rankings and consumer reviews. See articles 5, 6 and 7 of the laws linked above where new provisions in the English version are italicised
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN (note on translation here) protects businesses from acts of unfair competition (art. 3.1), implementing the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC
  • The Broadcasting act was amended by the act of August 11th 2021 (PO) that transposed Directive 2018/1808; the Directive extends AVMSD rules online and in particular to video-sharing platforms: platforms must identify to users commercial communications in posts where known, and require the same of contributors. Content rules are essentially unchanged and shown for the Directive here

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION 

 

  • Content rules, principally from the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising, will apply when messaging qualifies as advertising; see definition above in the introduction. Other content rules from section B will also apply 
  • Code of Ethics of the Polish Direct Marketing Association (SMB) PO / EN (Chapter VI: e-Commerce; s. 35 in Polish version: Information about the Trader; s. 37 in Polish version: Commercial Communication
  • EASA’s Best Practice Recommendation Digital Marketing Communications 2023 establishes some exemptions in this context, such as User-generated Content (unless endorsed by the marketer), under Section 2 of the linked document
  • The EASA Best Practice Recommendation on Influencer Marketing 2023 is not binding, but it is helpful guidance on how European regulators should approach this marketing technique

 

EDPB GUIDANCE 

 

 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION

 

A significant issue in online’s less structured environment is the identification of advertising, especially in the context of Influencer marketing hence in this case extracting recognisability rules as well as the core misleadingness provision

 

  • Advertiser, promoter, operator and media, each of them only within the scope of its advertising-related activities, will obey the rule, that every recipient of advertising made or distributed with his participation should be able to identify, that particular message is an advertisement (Art. 9)
  • 1. Advertisements should not mislead their recipients, in particular with regard to: a) important characteristics such as nature, composition, method and date of manufacture, range of use, quantity, origin (also geographical) of the advertised item; b) value of the product and the total price actually to be paid for the product as well as other payment conditions like instalment sales, leasing, credit sales, bargain sales; c) terms of delivery, exchange, return, repair and maintenance; d) guarantee terms; e) intellectual and industrial property rights such in particular patents, names, trademarks, and industrial designs and models f) official permits or approvals, awards, prizes, medals, and diplomas; g) the extent of the entrepreneur’s benefits for charitable causes. 2. Data as well as scientific terms, quotations from technical or scientific publications not considered data within the meaning of the Code, used in advertisements, must indicate their source and cannot be used in a misleading manner. The data must be presented correctly from the methodological point of view. Presentation of statistical data must in particular take into account the rules of statistical inference, including the phenomenon of statistical error

 

Sect. 37.1 SMB Code: Commercial Communication:

 

  • All commercial communications should be easily recognizable as such. The person initiating such communication, whether a natural or legal person, should be easily identifiable. This rule also applies without exception to unsolicited commercial communications which are carried out by electronic mail (s. 37 (1) SMB Code)
  • Internet technology should not be used to mislead customers as to the nature of a product or service in a promotion or offer. In addition, traders should not deceitfully restrict/ hamper the customer’s ability to leave the website and should make every effort to ensure that the search criteria accurately reflect the content of the site (s. 37 (3) SMB Code)

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION


Obligations for service providers who provide services by electronic means:

 

  • Commercial communications must be clearly identified and marked in such a way that there is no doubt that it is a commercial communication (Art. 9.1 PSEM)
  • Commercial communications must include (Art. 9.2(1-3) PSEM):

 

  • The name of the entity on behalf of whom the communication is made, and its email addresses
  • Clear description of the form of promotional activities, in particular: price reductions (discounts), free benefits in cash or in kind and other benefits related to the promoted goods, service or image, as well as the clear identification of the conditions necessary to take advantage of these benefits, if they are a component of the offer,
  • Any other information, which may have an impact on the extent of the responsibility of the parties, in particular warnings and restrictions

 

Extracts from the Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices re Identification 

 

  • Article 6 (1). A commercial practice shall be regarded as tacitly misleading if it fails to provide material information that the average consumer needs to take an informed transactional decision and thereby causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that (s)he would not have taken otherwise
  • 3. In particular, the following practices may be misleading:​ 1) withholding material information on the product or failing to provide such information in a clear, unambiguous or timely manner;​  2) failing to disclose the commercial purpose of the practice if this is not clearly apparent from the circumstances and if this causes or may cause the average consumer to take a contractual decision which (s)he otherwise would not have taken
  • Article 7. The following misleading commercial practices constitute unfair commercial practices in all circumstances:​ 11) advertorial, which involves using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer;​ 22) claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his/her business or profession, or representing oneself as a consumer when this is not the case

 

Invitation to purchase 

 

  • 4. In the case of an offer to purchase a product, material information within the meaning of Article 6 (1) shall be constituted by the following in particular:
 
  •  1) the main characteristics of the product, to an extent appropriate to the medium used to communicate with consumers and the product;​  2) forename, surname (corporate name) and address of the trader (registered office) and of the trader on whose behalf it is acting;  3) the price inclusive of taxes, or, where the nature of the product means that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated, as well as all additional freight, delivery or postal charges or, where these charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, information to the effect that such additional charges may be payable;​ 4) the arrangements for payment, delivery, performance and the complaint handling policy;​ 5) information on the right to withdraw from or annul the contract, if such a right is enshrined in the Act or in the contract
 
  • 5. When assessing whether a commercial practice is tacitly misleading, all of its elements and the circumstances of the product launch, including the way in which it was presented, should be taken into account
  • 6. Where the medium used to communicate with consumers for the commercial practice imposes limitations of space or time, these limitations and any measures taken by the trader to make the information available to consumers by other means shall be taken into account when deciding whether information has been omitted

 

 

 

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Read more

7. Native Advertising

SECTION C: NATIVE ADVERTISING

 

 

CONTEXT

 

Also known as sponsored or branded content, this is online and offline advertising designed to fit in with its ‘habitat’, to give consumers a visually consistent experience. IAB Europe’s December 2016 How to Comply with EU Rules Applicable to Online Native Advertising provides some categories of Native ads, some good practice recommendations, and a summary of EU rules and their December 2021 Guide to Native Advertising provides 'up-to-date insight into native ad formats and key considerations and best practices for buyers.' The key issue for this technique, obviously, is that of advertising identifiability. Native advertising, like any other advertising, is also subject to the rules set out in our content section B

 

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION 

 

  • The Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising (EN) applies to advertising content as defined and incorporates an identification rule set out below  
  • The ICC’s Guidance on Native Advertising (EN). The guidance is based on the ICC Code (EN) article 9 Identification
  • Code of Good Practice of Press Publishers PO / EN (Section 4) from the Polish Chamber of Press Publishers Izba Wydawców Prasy (IWP). Extracts below

 

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION 

  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends), which implements the UCP Directive 2005/29/EC and applies to B2C practices; the UCPA carries a number of rules on advertising identification; see below 
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN; note on translation here. See relevant article 16 below 
  • If 'Native' advertising stretches to video-sharing platforms, which it may, the Broadcasting Act amends of 11th August 2021, transposing Directive 2018/1808, require identification of commercial communications by the platform and by the contributor

 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION

 

  • Advertiser, promoter, operator and media, each of them only within the scope of its advertising-related activities, will obey the rule, that every recipient of advertising made or distributed with his participation should be able to identify, that a particular message is an advertisement (Art. 9 RR Code)
  • Article 9 Identification from the ICC Code: ‘Marketing communications should be clearly distinguishable as such, whatever their form and whatever the medium used. When an advertisement appears in a medium containing news or editorial matter, it should be so presented that it is readily recognisable as an advertisement and the identity of the advertiser should be apparent (see also article 10). Marketing communications should not misrepresent their true commercial purpose. Hence a marketing communication promoting the sale of a product should not be disguised by the marketer or sponsor as, for example, market research, consumer surveys, user-generated content, private blogs or independent reviews.' 
  • Hidden advertisements, including product placement, shall be forbidden (4.1.10 IWP)
  • The boundary between advertising material and editorial content shall not be blurred. The form of advertising materials and publications must be such as to make their nature of advertisement or announcement obvious to the reader. Advertising materials and announcements must be clearly set apart from editorial content by graphic elements or a different typeset and labelled as ‘advertisement’ (reklama), ‘promotion’ (promocja), ‘announcement’ (ogłoszenie), ‘sponsored text’ (tekst sponsorowany) or the like, making the nature and origin of such materials obvious to the reader. In particular, any advertisements and announcements that are intended to imitate or use editorial content or the publication’s graphic layout must be rejected (Rule 4.2.2 IWP)
  • Neither the name nor the logo of an advertiser or announcer may be used on any of the pages devoted to editorial content unless they are labelled as an advertisement (reklamą) or announcement (ogłoszeniem). An advertiser or announcer whose logo has been placed on a page with editorial content may not have any influence on editorial content. Moreover, an advertiser or announcer’s name or logo may be placed on a page with editorial content in connection with the preparation of events under the publication’s patronage or the financing of prizes in a competition organised by an editorial office or a publisher; the advertiser or announcer must be identified as the sponsor (Rule 4.2.3)
  • See rules 4.3.1/2 for Advertising Supplements conditions

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION

 

  • A commercial practice will be regarded as misleading by omission if it omits material information that the average consumer needs to take an informed transactional decision and thereby causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise (Art. 6.1 UCPA)
  • In particular, the following practice may be regarded as a misleading omission: Failing to disclose the commercial purpose of the practice (italics ours) if this is not clearly apparent from the circumstances and if this causes or may cause the average consumer to take a contractual decision which he/ she otherwise would not have taken (Art. 6.3 (2) UCPA)
  • When assessing whether a market practice is misleading by omission all its features and circumstances related to the product launch, including its overall presentation, should be taken into account (Art. 6.5 UCPA)
  • The following misleading commercial practice constitutes an unfair commercial practice in all circumstances: Advertorial, which involves using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (Art. 7.11 UCPA)
  • Applicable B2B: In the field of advertising an act of unfair competition shall be, in particular, the following: Statement encouraging the purchase of products or services by creating the impression of being impartial/ neutral information (Art. 16.1.4 UCA)

 

 

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8. Telemarketing

 

 

FOLLOWING FEEDBACK, WE NO LONGER COVER TELEMARKETING

9. Direct Postal Mail

SECTION C: DIRECT POSTAL MAIL

 

 

Consumer protection before mail is sent is from two main sources: 1) the rules on the processing of personal data (i.e. data that can identify an individual) in order to send marketing communications, and 2) the ‘Robinson list’ or equivalent, i.e. an opt-out list of people who do not wish to receive marcoms; see below. Privacy issues should be reviewed with specialist advisors

 

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION

 

  • The Personal Data Protection Act of May 10th 2018 PO / EN (link temporarily bust) transposes elements of GDPR and its accompanying Directive 2016/680 
  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends) applies to B2C commercial practices and includes e.g. misleadingness rules and 'Invitation to purchase' requirements. Transposes the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN; note on translation here, applies in B2B and in this context mainly relates to comparative advertising. Transposes the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive MACAD 2006/114/EC

 

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION 

 

  • Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising PO / EN applies to advertising content as defined and incorporates specific direct marketing rules; relevant article 47, applicable to B2C and B2B
  • Content of direct postal mail commercial communications must observe the rules set out in our earlier content section B, except those specific to broadcast media. The principal source of rules is the RR code linked above
  • SMB (Polish Marketing Association) Code of Conduct POThe Robinson List (opt-out register) includes postal mail. Members of SMB must consult this list prior to sending direct mail marketing

 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION

 

  • All marketing communications/ advertising content in Direct Postal Mail is subject to the Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising. The core rules are shown under Chapter III Basic Principles of Advertising; Direct Marketing under Chapter VII
  • Direct marketing communications must respect the privacy of the recipient (Art. 47.1 RR Code)
  • If personal data is collected for the purposes of direct marketing, the recipient must be clearly informed of this fact and provided with an indication of the scope of processing of such data. The collection, storage, and use of data must be compliant with the Personal Data Protection Act/ GDPR (Art. 47.2 RR Code)
  • However direct marketing communications are sent (i.e. by email, SMS/ MMS, addressed/ non addressed postal mail, fax, telephone, other means of addressed online communications), the recipient must be able to verify the sender of such a marcom and where applicable, the source by which the sender obtained the recipient’s data (Art. 47.3 RR Code)
  • The marketer must comply with the recipient’s demands if they do not wish to receive DM communications, however sent. The recipient may send their request for DM communications to cease directly to the marketer or by registering on an appropriate preference list (Art. 47.4 RR Code) or by displaying information about such a request at the place of delivery of mail (i.e. on a postbox)
  • SMB Code: All commercial communications should be easily recognisable as such. The person initiating such communication, whether a natural or legal person, should be easily identifiable (s. 37 (1) SMB Code)
  • The Robinson List is only binding on members of the Direct Marketing Association (SMB); it is a condition of membership to observe the Robinson List Regulations (s. 1 (2) SMB Code). SMB makes its Robinson List available to other entities interested in joining the system on a voluntary basis

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION 

 

  • Applicable B2C: making persistent and unwanted solicitations by telephone, fax, email or other remote media to persuade consumers to purchase goods is considered an aggressive commercial practice under Art. 9 (3) UCPA (EN)
  • As direct mail will frequently include offers, information requirements from the UCPA when making an ‘Invitation to purchase' are extracted here (EN)
  • All marketing communications/ advertising content in direct postal mail is subject to the UCPA rules on unfair commercial practices, especially in this context misleading or unfair actions or omissions shown under articles 5, 6 and 7 of the act linked again here (EN)
  • The Unfair Competition Act (EN) is most relevant in this context to rules on comparative advertising; see article 16 of the UCA

 

 

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10. Event Sponsorship/ Field Marketing

SECTION C: EVENTS/ SPONSORSHIP

 

 

Ambush marketing: the European summer of sport
Taylor Wessing May 16, 2024

GUIDE: The Olympic Games 2024 - Beating around le ambush

Lewis Silkin 25 January, 2024 (EN)

 

APPLICABLE REGULATION 

 

  • Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising: PO / EN; Sponsorship Chapter VI articles 40-44
  • Sponsorship material is within the scope of the RR Code linked above; material would therefore need to observe the full code, as well as the specifics in the sponsorship section set out below
  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends), which implements the UCP Directive 2005/29/EC applies to B2C practices (art. 2/4 for scope, which suggests that sponsorship material would be covered)
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN (note on translation here) protects businesses from acts of unfair competition (art. 3.1), implementing the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC. 'The act of unfair competition shall be the activity contrary to the law or good practices which threatens or infringes the interest of another entrepreneur or customer.' (Art. 3.1)
  • The ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code (EN), foundation of self-regulation worldwide, carries a full Chapter B on event sponsorship

Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics Chapter VI Sponsorship

 

  • Sponsorship and sponsorship-related agreements must be performed in the manner which is easy to be read and understood by unrelated persons as to their nature, and in particular they should indicate all the interested parties and the content of their liabilities to the sponsor (Art. 40)
  • Information on sponsorship originating from the sponsor or the sponsored of the given event must be clearly formulated and cannot violate the prevailing standards of decency (Art. 41)
  • Sponsorship should never be operated in such a way as to endanger artistic or historical objects (Art. 42)
  • Sponsorship-related operations cannot be misleading as to the sponsored entity, brand or other identification of the sponsored, in particular where the sponsored event is presented on the radio or television (Art. 43)
  • The sponsored event cannot have a negative impact on natural environment. Therefore, any message coming from the sponsored person or the sponsor, and related to environmental protection should be truthful (Art. 44)

 

 

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11. Sales Promotion

SECTION C: SALES PROMOTIONS

 

 

Permanent promotions mislead consumers, says Poland's consumer protection watchdog
Osborne Clarke/ Lex. April 4, 2023

 

CONTEXT

 

This website was created to provide international rules on marketing communications; it does not claim authority on specific Sales Promotions (SP) regulation, especially retail legislation. However, in the course of extensive research in marketing, relevant rules will be included. National self-regulatory codes and consumer protection legislation around pricing, for example, are checked for any provisions that affect SP and included below. Note that promotional schemes requiring a purchase to take part, and offering prizes only on the basis of random chance, are considered a lottery and are generally illegal. As promotional advertising might be more ‘aggressive’, we include the measures from legislation and self-regulation related to aggressive/ unfair advertising. Promotional activity can be fraught with regulatory issues; plans should be checked with specialist advisors

 

APPLICABLE SELF-REGULATION

 

  • Rada Reklamy Code of Ethics in Advertising PO / EN Chapter VIII Sales Promotion (Arts 49-61)
  • SMB (Polish Direct Marketing Association) Code of Ethics PO / EN (s. 14) promotion and advertising, Chap. III Mail Order and Catalogue Selling

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION

 

  • The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN (inc. 2022 amends) applies B2C; covers forms of promotional marcoms under arts 7.19, 7.20, and 9.8. This law transposes the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC
  • The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN (Art. 17a (1&2) UCA) similarly, the UCA addresses some promotional techniques under article 17a. This act transposes the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC
  • Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means PO / EN (Art. 9.2.2  promotional conditions in e-commerce context; see below)
  • The Gambling Act of 19 November 2009 PO / EN (key clauses only; unofficial translation) relevant to a prize draw/ promotional lottery where participation in the promotion is conditional on the purchase of goods, services or another game ticket

 

KEY CLAUSES SELF-REGULATION

 

Rada Reklamy Code Chapter VIII: Sales Promotions

 

  • 1. Sales promotions cannot be developed and conducted so as to mislead the recipients. 2. Neither the design nor the implementation of a promotion should be such as to provoke, or to appear to condone, aggressive or illegal behaviour, and cannot otherwise be inconsistent with the social coexistence principles. Moreover, they cannot encourage practices contrary to the public interest (Art. 49)
  • Sales promotions should be so framed as not to abuse the trust of the recipients and not to exploit their possible lack of experience or knowledge (Art. 50)
  • Sales promotions should be so devised as to make it easy for the beneficiary to identify clearly the terms of the offer. Care should be taken not to exaggerate the value of the additional benefit and the price of the main product should not be concealed by the promotional activity (Art. 51)
  • Sales promotions should be administered with adequate resources and supervision methods. In particular, the sales promoter should make sure that the availability of the additional benefits is adequate to allow demand to be honoured within a reasonable time. If delay is inevitable, the beneficiaries should be so advised, and if necessary actions should be undertaken which shall result in adjustment of the advertising concerning the offer (Art. 52)
  • 1. When organising sales promotions, the right of privacy of each entity should be respected. No additional liabilities not arising from the sales promotions rules can be imposed on such entities 2. If as a result of the sales promotion organised personal data of natural persons are collected, then the beneficiary should be clearly informed thereof, with indication of the scope of processing of such data. The collection, storage, and use of data must be compliant with the Personal Data Protection Act (Art. 53)
  • Sales promotions should be designed and conducted with proper regard to appropriate standards of safety to the extent necessary for protection of the beneficiaries participating in such promotions against health damage (Art. 54)
  • The presentation of sales promotions should allow participants, before making any required purchase, to be informed of the rules of such promotion if they can affect their decision to purchase the relevant product. In particular, the presentation should include, where applicable: a) clear instructions on the method of making use of, or obtaining, the promotional offer, e.g. conditions for obtaining free gifts or premiums; b) general characteristics of the additional benefits offered; c) time limitations for using the promotional offer; d) any limitation as to the geographical area, age, quantity (number) of promoted items or other additional benefits available, or any other limitations on quantity. e) the value of any voucher or stamp offered where a monetary alternative is available; f) expenditure involved, including costs of shipping, handling and the terms of payment; g) the full name and address of the promoter and an address to which complaints can be directed if different from the address of the promoter (Art. 55)
  • 1. Where the sales promotion includes a competition, in addition to the information required by Article 55 above, the following information should be given or at least be made available on request and unconditional on purchase of the main product, prior to participation: a) rules governing eligibility to participate in the competition; b) all costs associated with participation known to the promoter, and where applicable also information on the rates used (e.g. for special calls); c) number, value and nature of prizes to be awarded and whether a cash alternative may be substituted for a prize; d) in the case of a skill contest, the nature of the contest and the criteria for judging the entries; e) method of selecting the winners and the prize; f) closing date of the competition; g) when and how the results will be announced; h) whether the beneficiary may be liable to pay tax as a result of winning a prize; i) time period during which prizes may be collected; j) how the jury is selected; k) the composition of the jury, on announcement of the results at the latest; l) any intention to use winners or winning contribution in post-event activities. 2. If the sales promotion includes a lottery, the provisions of paragraph 1 above shall be applicable to the lottery, respectively, where applicable (Art. 56) 
  • 1. The promoter should always obtain the prior agreement of the operator if the promoter inter alia intends to: a) invite the employees of the operator to assist in any sales promotion; b) propose (offer) to such employees any benefits of value or obtaining any benefits of value for such employees’ assistance or for any sales achievements in connection with any sales promotion. 2. If the offer referred to in paragraph 1 above is addressed to a wide circle of recipients it must contain clear instruction that employees must obtain their employer’s permission before they accept such offer (Art. 57)
  • Sales promotions which require active co-operation by the operator and its employees cannot adversely affect the performance of any existing contractual obligations of such operator (Art. 58)
  • Sales promotions which have been accepted by the operator should be fairly and honestly handled, and properly administered by the operator (operator’s employees) (Art. 59)
  • 1. Sales promotions involving any specific responsibility on the part of the intermediary should be so handled by him/her that no misinterpretation is likely to arise in particular as to the terms, value, limitations or availability of the offer subject to the sales promotion. 2. In particular, the operator should adhere to the plan and conditions of the promotion as laid down by the promoter. No changes of the agreed arrangements, e.g. alteration to the time-limit, should be made by the operator without the prior agreement of the promoter (Art. 60)
  • 1. Sales promotions containing comparisons should be so designed that the comparison is not likely to mislead, and should comply with other principles of fair competition. 2. Points of comparison should be based on verifiable facts and should not be unfairly selected. Article Art 11 of the Code shall be applicable per analogy (Art. 61)

 

 

SMB Polish Marketing Association Code of Ethics
(some translation enhanced)

 

Section 14 Promotion and Advertising, in context of mail order and catalogue selling

 

  1. Trader’s (i.e. businesses/ companies), which as part of a promotional offer, carry out bonus sales (contests, draws/ lotteries etc.) undertake to observe all legal regulations governing this type of activity. It is the trader’s responsibility to set out clearly and precisely all the terms and conditions upon which the sales are carried out (14.1)
  2. If the sending of the reply is tied to participation in a contest, the offer should specify the exact deadline/ cut-off date for sending replies, which will enable participation in the contest (14.2)
  3. The deadline for sending applications should be set at least one month from the date of sending the offer (14.3)
  4.  Each ticket in a lottery must have an equal chance of winning (14.4)
  5. Winners must receive the prize within six weeks of the end of the promotion unless they have been informed in advance about another date. Companies should strive to ensure that the prize or the information about the prize is sent within three weeks of the contest or lottery closing date (14.5)
  6. All restrictions on the availability of the prizes should be truthful and justified (14.6)
  7. Traders undertake not to use the type of promotion referred to as “Everybody wins/ Win-Win/ Everybody is a winner” ("Wygrywa każdy"). This slogan is understood to mean any free lotteries or prize draws in which the consumer is informed about the supposedly random drawing of the prize (14.7)
  8. The determining factor is chance/ luck. Where the trader has decided to give away the same or similar goods to all or most of the consumers, it is prohibited to use such terms as “prize” (nagroda), “you have won” (wygrałeśś), “you have most likely won” (najprawdopodobniej wygrałeś), or “see if you have won” (sprawdź, czy wygrałeś) and others. Such given goods shall be referred to as “gifts for everybody” (prezentami dla każdego), and not “prizes” (nagrodami) (14.8)

 

 

KEY CLAUSES LEGISLATION

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices PO / EN 

 

Aggressive commercial practices which are unfair in all circumstances:

 

  • Creating the impression that the consumer has already won, will win unconditionally, or will win on taking a particular course of action, a prize or other equivalent benefit, when in fact claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer paying money or incurring other costs (Art. 9.8)

 

Misleading commercial practices which are unfair in all circumstances:

 

  • Claiming in a commercial practice to offer a competition or prize promotion without awarding the prizes described or a reasonable equivalent (Art. 7.19 UCPA)
  • Presenting a product as ‘gratis’ (gratis), ‘free’ (darmowy), ‘without charge’ (bezpłatny) or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the commercial practice and collecting or paying for delivery of the item (Art. 7.20 UCPA)

 

Act on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means PO / EN (Art. 9.2.2)

 

  • (Electronic) commercial communications must include: a clear description of the form of promotional activities, in particular price reductions (discounts), free benefits in cash or in kind and other benefits related to the promoted goods, service or image, as well as the clear identification of the conditions necessary to take advantage of these benefits, if they are a component of the offer

 

The Unfair Competition Act UCA PO / EN translation note here

 

  • The following is an act of unfair competition: the sale to consumers of goods or services with the award to all or some purchasers of the products or services with a free bonus in the form of products or services different from those representing the subject of the sale, notwithstanding the point below (Art. 17a.1)
  • The above-mentioned sale is not an act of unfair competition if the bonuses are goods or services (Art. 17a.2(1-2):
     
  • of low value or a sample of the product
  • won in promotional lotteries organised under the rules on gambling or contests/ competitions the result of which does not depend on chance 

 

Gambling Act

 

The Gambling Act of 19 November 2009 PO: relevant to a prize draw (promotional lottery) where participation in the promotion is conditional on the purchase of goods, services or another game ticket. Note: If the purchasing of goods, services or another game ticket is optional (i.e. participation in the promotion is not conditional on the purchase of goods, services or another game ticket), the game should be generally treated as a prize promotion, not as a lottery. Scope: The Gambling Act applies to gambling games (gry hazardowe) which includes 3 main categories (games of chance, betting, slot machines). Promotional lotteries come under the games of chance category

 

 

Definitions and conditions

 

  • Games of chance: "games for cash or in-kind prizes, the result of which depends in particular on chance, and the rules of which are specified in the terms and conditions of a given game” (Art. 2.1 Gambling Act)
  • Games of chance includes: Promotional lotteries, where participation in a free-of-charge lottery occurs by purchasing a product, a service or other game ticket and the entity organising the game/ lottery offers cash or in-kind/ material prizes (Art. 2.1.10 Gambling Act) 
  • Organising promotional lotteries requires a prior permit (Art. 7.1 GA); online promotional lotteries are now permitted, following amendment to the act (Art. 5 (1b) GA): Art. 7.1 Gambling Act: promotional lotteries can be organised by natural persons, legal entities and non-legal entities under the permit granted
  • Gambling on the Internet, with the exception of pool betting and promotional lotteries, is governed by the state monopoly. Up until amendment to the Gambling Act via Act of 15 December 2016 (via Art. 1 (5)), online betting was the only form of online gambling permitted in Poland

 

 

 

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D. Advice & Clearance

SECTION D SRO SERVICES

 

 

ADVICE

 

 

Związek Stowarzyszeń Rada Reklamy, known as Rada Reklamy, translated as the Advertising Council, is the Self-Regulatory Organisation in Poland, founded in 2006. Rada Reklamy handles complaints from both consumers and competitors via its Complaints Jury or Advertising Standards/ Ethics Committee (Komisja Etyki Reklamy). Further information is available via its website http://www.radareklamy.pl/

 

Rada Reklamy offers copy advice, usually within three working days. This service is provided free of charge for members for 5 opinions annually then charges of PLN 1,000 and 1,500 net for standard and express respectively, while non-members pay a standard opinion within 5 business days PLN 2,500 net; express opinion within 48 hours PLN 4,500 net. Rada Reklamy does not pre-clear advertising.

 

 

CLEARANCE

 

Direct to broadcaster

Allow 3-5 days TV/VOD

For help contact the Traffic Bureau administration@trafficbureau.net

 

 

E. Links

SECTION E SOURCES/ LINKS

 

 

LEGISLATION

 

European legislation

 

GDPR

 

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of The European Parliament and of The Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). The GDPR came into force May 25 2018.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj

 

The GDPR is accompanied by Directive 2016/680, which is largely concerned with supervising procedures, and which should have been transposed into member states’ legislation by 6th May 2018.

 

European Data Protection Authority

Article 29 Working Party/ EDPB





The Article 29 Working Party was established under article 29 (hence the name) of Directive 95/46/EC, the Personal Data Protection Directive. The arrival of the GDPR heralded the demise/ re-working of A29WP, and its replacement by the European Data Protection Board:

https://edpb.europa.eu/.

 

All documents from the former Article 29 Working Party remain available on this newsroom

Article 29 Working Party archives from 1997 to November 2016: 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/documentation/index_en.htm.

Five more recent, significant documents:

 

 

 

Commercial practices: UCPD


Directive 2005/29/EC of The European Parliament and of The Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (the ‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’ UCPD). This is the legislation that most impacts marketing and advertising in Europe and whose origins form the foundations of Self-Regulatory regimes. The core provisions relate to unfair commercial practices, defined as ‘likely to materially distort the economic behaviour with regard to the product of the average consumer.’ In turn, unfair commercial practices are those that:

 

  1. are misleading (misleading actions or misleading by omission) as set out in Articles 6 and 7, or
  2. are aggressive as set out in Articles 8 and 9: ‘use of harassment, coercion and undue influence.’ This clause more often relates to ‘active conduct’.

 

Annex I (known as ‘the blacklist’) contains the list of those commercial practices which ‘shall in all circumstances be regarded as unfair’. These are the only commercial practices which can be deemed to be unfair without a case-by-case test (i.e. assessing the likely impact of the practice on the average consumer's economic behaviour). The list includes e.g. encouragement to children to ‘pester’ (28), clear identification of commercial source in advertorial (11) and making ‘persistent and unwanted solicitations’ (26). The UCPD includes several provisions on promotional practices e.g. Article 6 (d) on the existence of a specific price advantage, Annex I point 5 on bait advertising, point 7 on special offers, points 19 and 31 on competitions and prize promotion, and point 20 on free offers. Some amendments to Directive 2005/29/EC are provided in Directive 2019/2161 linked below; these are supposed to be transposed by November 2021 and in force in member states by May 2022.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2005/29/oj

Guidance: On 17 December 2021, the European Commission adopted a new Commission Notice on the interpretation and application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (‘the UCPD Guidance’). This document is the definitive guidance across a number of commercial practices/ claim areas covered by the UCPD.

 

The Omnibus Directive 

 

Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules. This directive, which 'aims to strengthen consumer rights through enhanced enforcement measures and increased transparency requirements', sets out some new information requirements related to search rankings and consumer reviews under the UCPD 2005/29/EC and pricing information under Directive 2011/83/EU in the context of automated decision-making and profiling of consumer behaviour, and price reduction information under the Product Pricing Directive 98/6/EC. More directly related to this database, and potentially significant for multinational advertisers, is the clause that amends article 6 (misleading actions) of the UCPD adding ‘(c) any marketing of a good, in one Member State, as being identical to a good marketed in other Member States, while that good has significantly different composition or characteristics, unless justified by legitimate and objective factors’. Recitals related to this clause, which provide some context, are here. Helpful explanatory piece on the Omnibus Directive 2019/2161 from A&L Goodbody via Lexology here. Provisions are supposed to be transposed by November 2021 and in force in member states by May 2022. 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/2161/oj

Pricing

 

Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers. The purpose of this Directive is to stipulate indication of the selling price and the price per unit of measurement of products offered by traders to consumers in order to improve consumer information and to facilitate comparison of prices (Article 1). For the purposes of this Directive, selling price shall mean the final price for a unit of the product, or a given quantity of the product, including VAT and all other taxes (Article 2a). While this legislation seems prima facie most suited to ‘goods on shelves’ as it requires unit prices (the final price, including VAT and all other taxes, for one kilogramme, one litre, one metre, one square metre or one cubic metre of the product), the Directive was used as the basis for a significant ECJ judgement  on car pricing in advertising. Some amendments to Directive 98/6/EC related to price reduction information are provided in Directive 2019/2161 linked above; these are supposed to be transposed by November 2021 and in force in member states by May 28, 2022. The article concerned, 6a, is extracted here. Commission guidance on its application is below this entry.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/2161/oj

 

Commission notice: Guidance on the interpretation and application of Article 6a of Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021XC1229(06)&from=EN

 

Comparative advertising

 

Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 concerning misleading and comparative advertising. Article 4 of the MCAD provides that comparative advertising is permitted when eight conditions are met. The most significant of those for our purposes are a) it is not misleading within the meaning of Articles 2 (b), 3 and 8 (1) of this Directive or articles 6 and 7 of Directive 2005/29/EC (see above) and b) it compares goods or services meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose. There are other significant conditions related to denigration of trademarks and designation of origin, imitation and the creation of confusion. Codified version:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0114

 

Audiovisual media

 

Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services: the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, or AVMSD. This is the codified version of the much-amended Directive 89/552/EEC and represents the core European broadcast legislation, providing significant structural and content rules, applied largely consistently across member states.  From a marcoms perspective, the core articles are 9 (Discrimination, safety, the environment, minors and some prohibitions), 10 (Sponsorship), 11 (Product Placement) and 22 (Alcoholic beverages rules).

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32010L0013

 

AVMSD amendment

 

Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) in view of changing market realities. The background to this significant development of the AVMSD is here. In broad terms, the Directive addresses the changes in media consumption in recent years and pays particular attention to the protection of minors in that context, extending rules to e.g. shared content on SNS. There are ‘strengthened provisions to protect children from inappropriate audiovisual commercial communications for foods high in fat, salt and sodium and sugars, including by encouraging codes of conduct at EU level, where necessary’. See article 4a. Rules for alcoholic beverages are extended to on-demand audiovisual media services, but those provisions (social/ sexual success etc.) are not amended.

Article 28b addresses video- sharing platform providers (VSPS), containing requirements to prevent violent, criminal, or otherwise offensive material and bringing the 'general' AV commercial communication rules such as those for the environment, human dignity, discrimination, minors etc. into these platforms. VSPS must also provide a functionality for users who upload user-generated videos to declare whether they contain commercial communications as far as they know or can be reasonably expected to know; VSPS must accordingly inform users. There has been some debate as to whether vloggers/ influencers are in scope, i.e. they or their output constitute an audiovisual media service. Definitive opinion/ recommendation is from the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) paper 'Analysis and recommendations concerning the regulation of vloggers.' The annex of the paper contains national examples. The Directive entered into force 18th December 2018; member states are required to have transposed into national law by 19th September 2020. 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1808/oj

 

e-Privacy

 

Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications, the ‘E-privacy Directive’). This Directive ‘provides for the harmonisation of the national provisions required to ensure an equivalent level of protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, and in particular the right to privacy and confidentiality, with respect to the processing of personal data in the electronic communication sector.’ The directive was amended by Directive 2009/136/EC; the ‘Cookie directive’, provisions found under article 5.3 of the E-Privacy Directive. Article 13 for Consent and ‘soft opt-in’ requirements

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2002/58

 

The ‘Cookie Directive’ 2009/136/EC amending Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector. Article 2 provides amends to the E-privacy Directive above

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0136

 

e-Privacy Regulation draft (10 February 2021)

 

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications):

https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6087-2021-INIT/en/pdf

Statement on the e-Privacy Regulation and the future role of Supervisory Authorities and the EDPB. Adopted on 19 November 2020:
https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/default/files/files/file1/edpb_statement_20201119_eprivacy_regulation_en.pdf

February 2022 Clifford Chance/ Lex E-Privacy check-in: where we are, and where we're headed
March 2022 Härting Rechtsanwälte/ Lex ePrivacy Regulation: EU Council agrees on the draft

 

e-Commerce

 

Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market ('Directive on electronic commerce')‘information society services’ are defined as ‘any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services.’ Article 5 covers general information such as contact details from the ‘service provider’, which information should be made easily, directly and permanently accessible to the recipients of the service’. The Directive also sets out under article 6 more specific information requirements for commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service. These include identifiability requirements and accessibility to conditions for promotions.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32000L0031

 

The Digital Services Act

 

Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act). European Commission pages on the DSA are here. Wikipedia entry is here. Helpful legal commentary, which also addresses the Digital Markets Act, is from DLA Piper/ Lex February 2023: Online advertising: A regulatory patchwork under construction. Key marcoms issues for advertisers/ platforms are the identification of advertising material and parameters used for its targeting and the prohibition of advertising based on profiling that uses using special data categories such as religious belief, health data sexual orientation etc. (art.26), or if the platform has reason to believe the recipient is a minor (art. 28). The Regulation applies from February 2024. 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32022R2065

 

The Digital Markets Act

 

Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act). European Commission pages are here; from those: 'Some large online platforms act as "gatekeepers" in digital markets. The Digital Markets Act aims to ensure that these platforms behave in a fair way online. Together with the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act is one of the centrepieces of the European digital strategy.' Wikipedia entry is here.  Article 2a prohibits the processing, for the purpose of providing online advertising services, personal data of end users using services of third parties that make use of core platform services of the gatekeeper, unless the end user has been presented with the specific choice and has given consent within the meaning of Article 4, point (11), and Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The Regulation entered into force on 1st November 2022 and applied on 2nd May, 2023. Gatekeepers will be identified and they will have to comply by 6th March 2024 at the latest.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/1925

 

 

National legislation 

 

Unfair competition (B2B primarily)

 

Act on Combating Unfair Competition (Ustawa o zwalczaniu nieuczciwej konkurencji) of 16 April 1993. ‘Unfair Competition Act’. The Act is based on a general clause in Article 3 (1), according to which an act of unfair competition means any act contrary to the law or good practice, which impairs or infringes the interests of another trader or of the customers. The general clause is followed by prohibitions on acts of unfair competition, e.g. false or misleading designation of an undertaking or products (Articles 5–10), unfair advertising (Article 16). This Act incorporated the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC MACAD:

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu19930470211 (PO)

https://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POActCombatingUnfairComp1993EN.pdf (EN)

Translation note here.

 

Unfair commercial practices

 

The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices (Ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu nieuczciwym praktykom rynkowym) of 23 August 2007. ‘Unfair Commercial Practices Act’. This Act, which implemented Directive 2005/29/EC, deals with B2C unfairness. It is based on a general clause, which in Article 4.1 prohibits unfair commercial practices that are contrary to good customs/ practice (dobrymi obyczajami) and which materially distort or are likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer before, during or after a transaction. This general clause is followed by specific provisions on misleading actions and omissions - Articles 5 and 6 - and aggressive practices (Article 8). Article 7 prohibits 23 misleading market practices that are unfair in all circumstances. Article 9 blacklists eight aggressive market practices. The information obligations under Art. 6.4 UCPA when a price is mentioned in advertising/ the advertising constitutes an ‘invitation to purchase’, are also relevant. The Law on Counteracting Unfair Commercial Practices was amended by the Act of December 1, 2022 amending the Act on consumer rights and certain other acts (PO) and effective January 1, 2023. This act transposed into the UCPA's articles 5, 6 and 7 requirements of Directive 2019/2161 relating to search rankings, consumer reviews and the 'internationalisation' of campaigns. There's a helpful December 2022 piece from Taylor Wessing on the implementation in English and Polish here. Consolidated text pdf:

isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20071711206/U/D20071206Lj.pdf (PO)

Unofficial EN translation inc. 2022 amends http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POUCPAkeylauses2022ENb.pdf

 

Regulatory authority

 

UOKIK, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. From their website: 'The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is a central authority of the state administration. They report directly to the Prime Minister, who appoints them from amongst the persons selected by way of an open and competitive contest. The President of the Office is responsible for shaping the antitrust policy and consumer protection policy.' In September 2022, UOKIK announced new 'Recommendations pertaining to the tagging of advertising content by Influencers on social media.' General website/ about us in English:

https://uokik.gov.pl/about_the_occp.php

Influencer Recommendations September 2022:

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POUOKIKInfluencerRecsSept2022EN.pdf

 

 

Channel legislation

 

Broadcast / AV

 

Broadcasting Act of 29 December 1992 (Ustawa z dnia 29 grudnia 1992 r. o radiofonii i telewizji) (Journal of Laws 1993, no 7, item 34). Entry into force 01/03/1993. This Broadcasting Act, as amended, implemented the provisions of the Audio Visual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU. The most recent amendment added provisions concerning on-demand services, marking the final step in the transposition of the AVMS Directive. The Act regulates the whole broadcasting sector in Poland and includes regulations on public service broadcasting and commercial broadcasting. It regulates commercial communications (in particular advertising, sponsorship, teleshopping and product placement, as per Art. 4 (16) Broadcasting Act) on TV, Radio, and VOD. The Regulatory authority is the National Broadcasting Council KRRiT (see below):

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu19930070034 (PO)

GRS translation of key provisions pre amends below:

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POBroadcastingActWRversionb.pdf

 

Amend to the Broadcasting Act of 11th August 2021 transposing Directive 2018/1808. This Directive essentially extends AVMSD scope online and to video-sharing platforms especially. The commercial content rules from the Directive do not change significantly (it is primarily scope that is extended), albeit more generally there are new pressures on self-regulatory systems; key changes to content rules in the Directive are shown here - see article 4a and 9 for references to self-regulation in food and in alcohol. Chapter 6b of the national act covers video-sharing platforms. Helpful summary: New regulations on video-sharing platforms and other media service providers from Hogan Lovells. The Act entered into force November 1, 2021, with the exception of Art. 1 points 10, 31, point 32 in the scope of article 47g and point 33 lit. b, article 2 and article 4, which entered into force on 1 January 2022.

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20210001676 (PO)

 

Regulatory authority

 

National Broadcasting Council (Krajowa Rada Radiofonii I Telewizji KRRiT). KRRiT regulates the content of public and commercial broadcasting related to protection of minors, harmful content, advertising restrictions, etc. 

Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 30 June 2011 on principles of advertising and teleshopping in radio and television programme services (ref. art. 16 (7) Broadcasting Act):

http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20111500895 (PO)

Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 30 June 2011 on conditions of product placement (ref. Art. 17(9) Broadcasting Act):

http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20111610977 (PO)

Regulation of the National Broadcasting Council of 27 July 2011 amending the Regulation concerning sponsorship of programmes and other broadcasts (ref. art 17(8) Broadcasting Act):

http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20000650785 (PO)

 

Privacy/ cookies

 

Telecommunications Act 16 July 2004 (as amended) (OJ 2004 No. 171, item. 1800) Entry into force 03/09/2004. This Act specifies conditions for the protection of services users, in particular with regard to privacy and confidentiality and conditions for data processing. The act implemented the ‘Telecommunications Package’, which includes the E-Privacy Directive 2002/58/EC. Cookies are regulated within this Act (Art. 173); an amendment in 2012 implemented the provisions of the Cookie Directive Article 2 (5) 2009/136/EC. Article 172 allows telephone, fax and automated calling systems to be used for the purposes of direct marketing only after obtaining the end user’s prior consent:

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu20041711800 (PO)

Unofficial English translation:

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POTelecomsAct.pdf (EN)

 

Regulatory authorities

 

UODO Urzędu Ochrony Danych Osobowych, Office for the Protection of Personal data:

www.uodo.gov.pl/pl/p/o-nas

 

Office of Electronic Communications.  Non-compliance with the rules on storing and accessing cookies, as well failing to obtain consent prior to carrying out direct marketing by telephone, fax or automated calling systems may result in a fine imposed by the President of UKE for anyone who does not fulfil the obligations to obtain consent as laid out in Articles 172-174 of the Telecommunications Act (Art 209 (1) (25 TA:

www.uke.gov.pl/

 

Data protection

 

The Personal Data Protection Act (DPA) of 10 May 2018. The purpose of this Act is to ensure the application of the Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. The Act also implements the Directive (EU) 2016/680 and establishes the Office for the Protection of Personal Data. See entry under Regulatory authorities earlier in this section. The DPA In Polish:

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20180001000

Unofficial translation:

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POPersonalDataProtection2018.pdf

 

e-Commerce

 

Act of 18th July 2002 on the Provision of Services by Electronic Means. Law Gazette/ Dz. U of 9th Sept 2002, No. 144, item 1204. Came into force 10/03/2003 (Ustawa z dnia 18 lipca 2002 r. o świadczeniu usług drogą elektroniczną). This Act is the principal legal influence in the field of business operation via the Internet, setting out the obligations of a service provider in relation to the provision of electronic services (Chapter 2; Articles 5-11). It implements elements of the e-Commerce 2000/31/EC and e-Privacy 2002/58/EC Directives, and establishes an opt-in regime for marketing by electronic media, including email and SMS, with no provision for soft-opt in:

https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu20021441204 (PO)

Non-binding unofficial GRS translation of key provisions:

https://www.g-regs.com/downloads/POActProvisionElectronicServices.pdf

 

Pricing 

 

The Law of 9th May 2014 on Information on Prices of Goods and Services; this is the legislation that transposed the Product Price Directive 98/6/EC, which was amended by the Omnibus Directive 2019/2161 to introduce new promotional pricing rules. Transposition effective January 1, 2023 happened via the Act of December 1, 2022 amending the Act on consumer rights and certain other acts. Article 4 is replaced by new provisions which reflect the directive's requirements to list the lowest price that was applied during the 30-day period before a reduction was introduced, in addition to the new price;

isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20140000915 (PO)

 

 

SELF-REGULATION

 

Advertising Code of Ethics (Kodeks Etyki Reklamy) June 25th, 2019; Rada Reklamy. The Code of Ethics in Advertising is based on the ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code and applies to all forms of marcoms, except social and political advertising. The code includes rules on environmental claims in advertising, and covers the direct marketing, sales promotions and sponsorship channels. In September 2019 the Children’s Protection Charter was established and  is set out under appendix 3 of the code. Rada Reklamy handles complaints from consumers, competitors and other interested parties via its Advertising Ethics Committee Komisja Etyki Reklamy (KER). All adjudications are published on their website. Polish:

https://radareklamy.pl/kodeks-etyki/

Rada Reklamy English translation:

https://radareklamy.pl/en/code-of-ethics-in-advertising/

 

SMB

 

The Code of Conduct from the Polish Direct Marketing Association SMB. The SMB also manage the Robinson List. Polish:
https://smb.pl/news/projekt_kodo

 

Robinson List 

 

Also known as the Telephone Preference Service or Mailing Preference Service (MPS); maintained by Polskie Stowarzyszenie Marketing SMB, the Polish Direct Marketing Association. Those who not want to receive marcoms by voice phone, SMS, email and postal mail can register their contact details on the database and will not receive unsolicited marcoms from SMB member companies; compliance with Robinson List rules is a condition of membership (s.1(2) SMB Code). Robinson List website:

http://www.listarobinsonow.pl/

Regulations for consumers:

https://listarobinsonow.pl/page/regulaminy

 

Code of Good Practice in Mobile Advertising PO / EN

 

Mobile operators Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Polkomtel, Orange and P4 in conjunction with IAB Poland publish good practices for mobile marketing. Mobile advertising is via Push ads (SMS/ MMS/ wap-push) and Pull ads – where the ad is displayed after a specific action by the user – e.g. entrance to a WAP site, sending SMS notifications 

 

 

IAB Poland/ Europe

 

Interactive Advertising Bureau Poland: Polish industry organisation that ‘unites and represents entities of the interactive industry. IAB Poland members include more than 200 companies, including the biggest web portals, global media groups, interactive agencies, media houses and technology providers.’

https://iab.org.pl/

IAB Poland publish the Guide to Influencer Marketing and Collection of Good Practices

https://www.iab.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/INFLUENCER-MARKETING_poradnik-IAB-Polska-2021.pdf (PO)

 

How to comply with EU rules applicable to online native advertising

https://iabeurope.eu/all-news/how-to-comply-with-eu-rules-applicable-to-online-native-advertising/

IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework: 
https://iabeurope.eu/transparency-consent-framework/

 

IAB TCF Framework and GDPR from GALA/ Mondaq February 2022. News story here (EN)

 

 

INTERNATIONAL CODES AND GUIDANCE

 

ICC

 

ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code 2018:

https://iccwbo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/09/icc-advertising-and-marketing-communications-code-int.pdf (EN)

Environmental claims (Chapter D of the above)
http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/ICCChapterDEnvironmentalClaims2018.pdf

The ICC Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications 2021 includes an Environmental Claims checklist under Appendix I and updated guidance on the use of environmental claims often appearing in marketing communications:

http://www.g-regs.com/downloads/iccenvironmentalframework_2021.pdf

The ICC’s Guidance on Native Advertising Is here:

https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/policies-reports/icc-guidance-on-native-advertising/ (EN)

 

EASA

 

The European Advertising Standards Alliance is a non-profit based in Brussels; EASA brings together national advertising Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs, such as Rada Reklamy) and other organisations representing the advertising industry in Europe and beyond. EASA is "the European voice for advertising self-regulation". The following link provides access to alliance membership:

http://www.easa-alliance.org/members

 

EASA’s Best Practice recommendations 

 

Digital Marketing Communications (2023)

Online Behavioural Advertising (2021)

Influencer Marketing (2023)

 

WFA

World Federation of Advertisers

 

From their website: 'WFA is the only global organisation representing the common interests of marketers. It brings together the biggest markets and marketers worldwide, representing roughly 90% of all the global marketing communications spend, almost US$ 900 billion annually. WFA champions responsible and effective marketing communications':

https://www.wfanet.org/

This is their ‘GDPR Guide for Marketers’:

http://info.wfa.be/WFA-GDPR-guide-for-marketers.pdf

The WFA launched their Planet Pledge in April 2021

And Global Guidance on Environmental Claims April 2022

 

FEDMA

 

Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing. FEDMA is the principal source of knowledge of the DM channel across Europe:

http://www.fedma.org/index.php?id=30

 

ESA

 

The European Sponsorship Association can be found at:

www.sponsorship.org

 

 

 

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