Marketing and advertising: the law
Regulations that affect advertising
Advertising to consumers
The rules on unfair commercial practices in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act mean you cannot mislead or harass consumers by, for example:
- including false or deceptive messages
- leaving out important information
- using aggressive sales techniques
Read the unfair commercial practices guidance for more information on how to advertise legally.
You may also find it helpful to read the examples of situations that may be considered unfair.
Advertising to businesses
Advertising to businesses is covered by the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations. As well as being accurate and honest, you must not make misleading comparisons with competitors, that includes:
- using a competitor’s logo or trademark, or something very similar
- comparing your product with a competitor’s product that’s not the same
Check ‘The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008’ for more detail about the regulations that cover advertising to businesses.
Penalties
If you break the rules, you could be reported to a local Trading Standards office. You could be prosecuted, fined and imprisoned.
Alternatively, you could have enforcement action taken against you and get a penalty of up to £300,000 or 10% of your global turnover, whichever is higher.