Audiovisual Media Services and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive

IRIS 2008-8:1/37

Jan Kabel

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

Are audiovisual media services totally unaffected by general legal principles?

This IRIS plus article shows the not entirely unique position of an area of law that, at first glance, would seem to be regulated completely by technology-dependent regulations. Product placement, sponsoring and surreptitious advertising are, however, not only subject to specific media-related legislation, but also to general principles in the field of unfair commercial practices that protect consumer interests.

These interests have not yet been taken into account in discussions on the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Nevertheless, consumer interests will take a prominent place in the law of audiovisual media services. This IRIS plus explains to what extent and why. It also tells its readers how the general legal principles relate to media-specific legislation.