Schaffer & Partner- Compliance of promotional activities with law

Do you use online advertising through sending commercial communications? Beware of high fines for violations of law!

While using email marketing it is necessary to keep in mind rather strict conditions of broadcasting commercial communications. The Office for Personal Data Protection in the Czech Republic recently imposed record high fines for sending unsolicited commercial communications.

In the first case, the fine amounted to CZK 1,5 million (i.e. approx. EUR 55,000). The sender did not bear the burden of proof that addressee granted their consent, or that they were its customers. In another case, even higher penalty amounting to CZK 1,9 million (i.e. approx. EUR 70,000) has been imposed, because the Office took into consideration the intensity of spamming (some of the addressees received several dozen of commercials, sometimes even several emails per day). Given this, the Office has clearly demonstrated that it carefully considers the intensity of spamming and thoroughly controls the remedy of the “offenders”.

The problem may lay primarily in a broad interpretation of a commercial communication. As a commercial communication it is also considered for instance a reference inviting to visit a websites, greetings for feasts etc. Furthermore, the risk of a possible inspection might be increased, because of the fact that it can be initiated upon complaints, which are in the Czech Republic basically anonymous. Every entrepreneur should, therefore, pay close attention to compliance of the promotional activities with law.