Let us recall – the penalties were imposed in connection with the proceedings of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, which started in September last year on marking commercial content on social media and suspected scam.
President UOKiK he addressed several dozen leading influencers, collecting information about the functioning of the influencer marketing industry and verifying the correctness of marking their advertising content in social media.
UOKiK imposes PLN 139 thousand. golden penalties for influencers
As UOKiK reported in Wednesday’s announcement, “unfortunately, several interviewed authors did not provide the information or did not send the documents requested by the Office”.
– We counted on the goodwill of Internet authors, but some of them did not answer the questions asked, avoided presenting specific documents or information, or did not receive correspondence. Lack of cooperation in the course of the proceedings is a serious breach, it may make it difficult to prove the use of a prohibited practice, and also significantly extend the possibility of establishing the actual state of affairs, says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
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Failure to provide an answer has legal and financial consequences – this is a violation of the regulations and may result in the imposition of a financial penalty of up to EUR 50 million. Taking into account all the circumstances, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection issued six decisions regarding punishment influencers for lack of cooperation. The fines totaled 139 thousand. zloty.
The highest fine – in the amount of 50 thousand. PLN – the office imposed on Marek Kruszel “Kruszwil”. Marcin Dubiel received a fine of 25,000. PLN, Julia Kuczyńska “Maffashion” – 30 thousand. zloty. The proceedings in their case have been conducted since November last year.
The lower penalty must be paid: Paweł Malinowski – 20 thousand zloty; Marcin Malczyński – 10,000 PLN “Marley” Marlena Sojka – PLN 4,000 zloty
The decisions are not final. Influencers can be appealed to court.
UOKiK wants greater regulation of the influencer marketing market
Currently, UOKiK UOKiK conducts consultations with industry organizations and marketing agencies, the purpose of which is to develop recommendations for users of social media in the field of marking commercial content.
– We consult our recommendations widely, because we care about different perspectives. We want to properly direct the market by showing real-life examples. Similar content was prepared by our Norwegian counterpart. At the same time, we will not – like the Scandinavians – regulate the issue of, for example, the use of photo retouching in marketing posts – explains Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
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