As one of thirteen, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection participates in the international action of Internet sweep, searching for unlawful and misleading advertising of mobile telephones, addressed to children and teenagers. The President of UOKiK invited to co-operation the Polish Ombudsman for Children - an institution in a very special way involved in protection of the youngest members of the IT society

The Internet pages are swept by institutions belonging to the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network - ICPEN from 13 countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Australia, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium, Lithuania and the United Kingdom). The action is co-ordinated by the Consumer Ombudsmen in Norway - initiator of the project.

The goal of the project is to identify and precisely determine methods used by enterprises in view of the growing concerns that sellers of mobile phones may abuse the ingenuousness and lack of knowledge of the youngest market participants. The researchers will also have a close look at the terms and conditions contained in the contracts addressed to children and teenagers.

Offer verification with view to their lawful character is conducted in a similar manner in each country. Employees of consumer protection agencies analyse advertisements and other marketing materials referring to the purchase of mobile phones by the youngest. The sweep is just one method to decrease the concerns of consumers.

After the end of the action, letters requesting modification will be sent to the owners of doubtful portals and sites. If these prove insufficient, the President of UOKiK may initiate administrative proceedings and when this is completed - impose fines of 10 to 1,000 zloty for each day of delay in implementing a decision prohibiting practices recognised as infringing upon collective consumers’ interests.

The project will also produce exchange of information between the participating organisations and thus contribute to eliminating supranational unfair marketing practices. The International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network groups institutions that assist consumers in solving their problems. The assistance is provided regardless of the country in which consumers’ rights may have been breached.

This is yet another participation by UOKiK in an international Internet sweep.

The long-term goal of the campaign is first of all: promotion of fair trading, increasing the consumer awareness - by identifying potential hazards and awareness of the rights held by the consumers as well as possibilities to exercise them, improving the quality of products and services offered through the Internet - showing the presence of State bodies in the Internet space.

Within the International Days of Internet Sweep, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection participated in actions reviewing web pages offering e.g.: “fast profit”, paramedical articles or tourist services.

The previous project of this kind was held on 12-14 February 2004 and it concerned unfair marketing over the Internet. Within that action, 66 sites were examined in detail. Among the most frequent irregularities there were: insufficient information about full costs of services, concealment of important elements of contracts with a simultaneous use of suggestive information or slogans. It was also common (over 70 percent of the examined sites) that the enterprises did not provide their contact details thus preventing access to the service provider, or filing of claims.

Additional information:
Elżbieta Anders, Spokesperson of UOKiK
International Relations and Communication Department
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Ph.: (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
E-mail: eanders@uokik.gov.pl