New proposed law on changing the Danish Marketing Law

The Danish Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency has just submitted a draft on the proposed law on changing the Marketing Law in the Directive on unfair trading practices as well as the introduction of a new fine level that can be important to companies in the future.
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Purpose of the new proposed law

The aim of the proposed law, which is due to enter on 1 January 2022, is to change the Marketing Law with a significant increase in the level of fines. In addition, the proposed law contains changes aimed at children and young people who are increasingly exposed to marketing on social media.

The proposed law also contains provisions to ensure increased transparency in online transactions, e.g. in connection with the ranking of products in online searches and the use of user reviews.

A new fine model                        

The proposed law contains a new fine model, which involves that fines in future can amount up to 4% of the business owner’s annual turnover in the involved member states, or EUR 4 million if information on the annual turnover is not available.  

The proposed changes will have a significant impact, as the new fine model will in most cases result in a significantly increased level of fines compared to what we know today.

The proposed law will e.g. involve that imposition of fines for unsolicited electronic inquiries inconsistent with the spam ban will in future be measured based on a statement of the number of matters and the number of inquiries per matter. A similar fine has been proposed in relation to unsolicited telephone inquiries, where the decisive factor for the measurement will be the number of unsolicited calls. More specifically, it will mean that unsolicited inquiries will be punished more severely than so far.

Focus on children and young people

In addition, the proposed law will introduce further regulation on commercial practices aimed at children and young people. This applies, for example, to marketing on social media and marketing of products that are unsuitable for children and young people.

In recent years, there have been several examples of companies whose products are unsuitable for children and young people, are still starting to market themselves to children and young people. For that reason, the proposed law aims to protect children and young people from products that are unsuitable for them.

You can read the proposed law here.   

Lund Elmer Sandager’s comment

With the proposed law, the consequence of breaking the spam ban and the marketing rules directed at children and young people will be even greater. This once again emphasize the importance of ensuring that the company remains compliant every day – a development that has also been seen in many other areas in the regulation of companies’ behaviour and other practices.

LES marketing compliance program

To help you comply with the increasing regulation of companies’ behaviour and other practices, Lund Elmer Sandager has developed a marketing compliance program. The program ensures that you comply with all rules, so you can focus on selling and advertising within the legal framework.  

You can read more about the LES marketing compliance program here.

If you have any questions about the proposed law, or if you are interested in hearing more about the LES marketing compliance program, please do not hesitate to contact Associate Partner, Attorney Torsten Hylleberg or Attorney Anders Linde Reislev.