Sneaky marketing - crackdown

Recently introduced legislation in the UK now means that a whole swathe of “sneaky” internet marketing practises are now outlawed.

Susan at Hallam Communications posted this article about the new laws, citing that:

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations bans 31 unfair commercial practices designed to protect consumers from misleading, aggressive or unfair practices.

In particular, the legislation outlaws any marketing that is in fact a disguised commercial message.

In a nutshell, this is an attempt to crack down on false or misleading advertising, such as some forms of viral emails or campaigns or maybe even entirely fake websites, designed purely for promotional purposes.

You can read about the letter of the law here are the Office of Fair Trading’s breakdown of the new legislation.

Photo by: duchesssa