• Is advertising content on on-line opinion-forming websites and their social media profiles correctly tagged?
• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has brought charges against two companies, Ringier Axel Springer Polska and Wirtualna Polska Media, which could face fines of up to 10 per cent of turnover.
• UOKiK is also investigating Agora and the Interia.pl Group in the context of the correct tagging of commercial content.

It is often the case that web content is developed in collaboration with or on behalf of advertisers. According to the law, any commercial message should be appropriately tagged so that consumers have no doubt that they are dealing with an advertisement. President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chróstny, as part of a preliminary investigation initiated in June this year, is scrutinising on-line portals for proper tagging of advertising content. The Office investigates the way in which various forms of commercial material are published, including in particular sponsored articles, native advertising, special campaigns or display advertising.

- Our actionsinfluencer marketing-oriented activities in social media have sparked positive changes in the correct tagging of commercial content. The next step is to review how content published on websites is tagged. We will take all possible steps to ensure that Internet users are protected from hidden advertising and are able to make an informed choice about whether they want to be exposed to commercial content – Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK, emphasises.

Upon investigation of the content published on the websites and the rules of cooperation with advertisers in this regard, the President of the Office has instituted proceedings against two companies. Ringier Axel Springer Polska and Wirtualna Polska Media have been accused of misleading consumers by failing to tag or incorrectly tagging the commercial character of material they publish on the websites they run or use.

Tagging method and location

Some of the commercial content analysed by the Office have not been tagged at all. In other instances, the tags used by the websites were questionable in terms of their clearness and legibility. In particular, phrases such as “article in cooperation with partner”, “partner presentation”, “content partner”, “content partner is...”, “site partner”. Content tagged in this way may be perceived by consumers as having been developed as part of an expert partnership with an external entity providing substantive input. However, what the content actually represents is a form of advertising, intended to promote the advertiser's product, service or brand.

Under the law, content on websites must be clearly tagged to imply that its publication is the result of a commercial cooperation with an advertiser. In the President of the Office's view, such requirements can be met by signs such as “advertisement”, “commissioned advertising content” or “sponsored text”.

Also contested is the way in which references to commercial content are published, the form of which often makes it difficult to identify their true nature. The homepages of the websites contain so-called “boxes” (tiles) or “highlights” (links) linking to the target content, which is also published on other companies' websites. Windows redirecting to advertising messages are often not distinct or tagged, nor do they stand out from neighbouring publications of an informative or journalistic nature, for example. On-line advertising enables a direct link to sales and should therefore be immediately tagged, in a box or link, in a way that is clear about its commercial nature.

Implications of not disclosing the commercial nature of the practice

Failure to disclose or ambiguous tagging of the advertising nature of the publication may distort the market behaviour of the average consumer. On the one hand, it can hinder the decision to willingly engage with advertising content, while on the other, it can impact decisions to purchase promoted products and services.

 - Editorial teams are active stakeholders in the contract with advertisers and have a real, often crucial, influence on how the content they manage is displayed. Any attempt to pretend that content is neutral while it is published against remuneration or other economic benefit is against the law. In the long term, it may also result in a loss of user trust in the content posted on the websites. Consumers should immediately be able to recognise whether a particular article is an advertisement or independent content, and publishers must reliably tag commercial partnerships – Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK, adds.

If the charges are confirmed, Ringier Axel Springer Polska and Wirtualna Polska Media could face a fine of 10 per cent of turnover. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is also investigating Agora and the Interia.pl Group regarding the correct tagging of commercial content.

Ringier Axel Springer Polska - operates, inter alia, the following websites: onet.pl, businessinsider.com.pl, forbes.pl, newsweek.pl, noizz.pl, przegladsportowy.onet.pl and komputerswiat.pl, lamoda.pl, medonet.pl, ofeminin.pl.

Wirtualna Polska Media - perates, inter alia, the following websites: wp.pl, o2.pl, pudelek.pl, money.pl, dobreprogramy.pl, autokult.pl and abczdrowie.pl.

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