Information Note on a New Era in Commercial Advertising

A NEW ERA IN COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING: 2026 REGULATORY CHANGES & COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS

SCOPE OF THE AMENDMENTS AND KEY CHANGES

This Information Note sets out the amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation”) and the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Amending Regulation”) have been prepared with the aim of assessing the obligations arising for advertisers, sellers, suppliers and intermediary service providers.

A significant portion of the amendments consists of the conversion into statutory provisions of approaches previously adopted by the Advertising Board through guidelines and principle decisions. In addition, targeted advertising and advertising via social media influencers have been regulated for the first time by separate provisions; disclosure obligations regarding the use of artificial intelligence technologies in advertising have been introduced; and the principles governing promotional sales advertising have been redefined.

As the provisions of the Amending Regulation came into force on 1 August 2026, stakeholders are expected to bring their practices into line with the new provisions as of that date. The new regulations are examined below by subject heading; our assessments regarding the actions required in practice are also set out.

MAIN CHANGES AND THEIR IMPACT ON PRACTICE

Changes Regarding General Provisions

• New Definitions: Environmental Claims, Social Media Influencers and Consumer Reviews

The concepts of “environmental claim”, “social media”, “social media influencer” and “consumer reviews” have been added to the definitions section of the Regulation. These concepts, which were previously used primarily in the Advertising Board’s guidelines, have now been defined directly at the level of the Regulation.

The definition of “consumer reviews” has been broadly interpreted; in addition to comments, it now covers rating systems such as scores or stars, as well as statements and endorsements describing experiences relating to ancillary contracts such as delivery, credit and insurance. A “social media influencer” is defined as a natural or legal person who shares promotional content on their own behalf or on behalf of an advertiser and receives a direct or indirect benefit in return for this communication.

Our assessment: The incorporation of these definitions into the Regulation will reduce discrepancies in interpretation during monitoring and enforcement processes. In this context, it would be appropriate to ensure that the definitions in contracts between advertising agencies, platforms and social media influencers—particularly regarding the concepts of ‘advertisement’, ‘benefit’, ‘promotional content’ and ‘consumer review’—are brought into line with the Regulation.

• Clear Restrictions on the Use of Academic Titles in Misleading Advertisements

The phrase “academic titles” has been added to Article 7/5-(g) of the Regulation concerning misleading advertising. Consequently, the use of academic titles—in addition to official recognition, approvals, medals, awards and diplomas—in a manner that creates a false impression of expertise, competence or reliability in the consumer is now explicitly prohibited. It is considered that this regulation is particularly significant in the health, beauty, education and consultancy sectors, where academic titles are used as an element to support the effectiveness of a product or service.

• Dietary Supplements in Comparative Advertising

With the amendment made to Article 8/3 of the Regulation concerning comparative advertising, the provision that had entirely prohibited comparative advertising for food supplements has been repealed. Consequently, food supplements are now subject to the general regime applicable to food products in terms of comparative advertising. However, the prohibition on using health claims as the subject of comparisons remains in force. Consequently, this amendment should not be interpreted as meaning that dietary supplements may be the subject of comparative advertising without restriction.

Our assessment: Comparisons used in food supplement advertisements must not contain claims regarding the product’s effects on health or the prevention and treatment of diseases; the comparison must be objective, verifiable and made between products that meet the same need.

Changes Regarding Discount Sales Advertisements

• 10-Day Reference Period for the Pre-Discount Price

Regulation Article 14/3 has been amended. Under the new provision, in advertisements relating to the sale of goods, the pre-discount price shall be determined on the basis of the lowest price applied during the ten days preceding the start date of the discount. Consequently, the reference period has been reduced from thirty days to ten days, and the start of the period has been clarified as the start date of the discount rather than the date on which the discount is applied.

The sentence “The burden of proof regarding these matters rests with the advertiser”, which appeared in the previous regulation, has not been included in the new text. However, this change does not remove the advertiser’s obligation to prove the accuracy of the price and discount claims made in the advertisement. In accordance with Article 9 of the Regulation, the obligation to prove the accuracy of price and discount claims made in the advertisement remains in force.

Our assessment: Advertisers must retain records showing the start date of the discount and the prices applied during the preceding ten days for each campaign; these records must be kept in such a way that they can be produced upon inspection.

• Determination of the Pre-Discount Price by Sales Channel

Where a good or service is offered for sale by a seller or provider through different sales channels, the pre-discount price shall be determined solely by reference to the price in the channel where the discount is applied. The price applied in one sales channel may not be used as the reference price for a discounted sale carried out in another channel.

Our Assessment: Businesses selling through different channels, such as websites, mobile apps, marketplaces or physical shops, must segregate their price history records by channel and review their campaign structures separately for each channel.

• Inclusion of Loyalty Schemes and Conditional Campaigns in the Discounted Sales Regime

Advertisements relating to loyalty programmes, which are established to strengthen consumers’ relationship with a specific brand, seller or supplier or to encourage their purchases, will be subject to the discounted sales provisions if the programme is easily accessible or usable by consumers.

Advertisements for conditional sales, which are subject to the condition that a specific quantity, number or value of products be purchased or that a specific transaction be carried out, will also be assessed under the same regime, except for the exceptions specified in the Regulation.

Our assessment: The compliance of loyalty programme prices and conditional campaigns such as ‘purchases over a certain amount’, ‘buy one, get one free’ or similar with the 10-day lowest price rule must be checked separately. It would be appropriate to reassess membership-based pricing and campaign systems in terms of accessibility requirements, reference price calculations and advertising copy.

New Obligations in Digital Advertising

• Burden of Proof for Advertisements Containing Environmental Claims

The amendments made to Article 17 of the Regulation explicitly stipulate that advertisements containing environmental claims must not be of a deceptive or misleading nature to the consumer. Environmental certificates and approvals mentioned in the advertisement must be substantiated by documents obtained from authorised bodies and organisations, relevant departments of universities, or accredited or independent research, testing and assessment organisations. Furthermore, it is necessary to clearly set out, in a manner comprehensible to the consumer, the specific element, product or process to which the environmental claim relates, as well as the measurement or assessment method used.

Our assessment: It will not be sufficient for environmental claims used in advertisements to be supported solely by general statements adopted by marketing teams. It would be appropriate for companies to compile an inventory of the environmental claims they use in their advertisements, packaging, websites and social media content, and to match each claim with the supporting certificate, test or assessment report.

• Advertisements Created Using Artificial Intelligence

In accordance with Article 18/8 of the Regulation, where artificial intelligence or other software is used in a manner that could significantly influence consumers’ economic behaviour, this must be stated in a clear, comprehensible and distinguishable manner. The same obligation applies, pursuant to Article 27/12, to the use in advertisements of digital characters created using artificial intelligence technologies that cannot be distinguished from a real person.

Our assessment: The disclosures to be used in advertising content generated by artificial intelligence must be standardised within the company in terms of visibility, placement and wording. Agency and production contracts must also include specific provisions regarding the prior notification of artificial intelligence use, rights over the data and materials used, permissions relating to personality rights, and liability arising from unlawful use.

• Advertisements Placed Through Social Media Influencers

In accordance with Article 23/A added to the Regulation, advertisements carried out via social media influencers must be clear, comprehensible and distinguishable. Where a post directs users to the advertiser or the advertiser’s goods and services, where financial gain is obtained in return for the post, or where goods or services are provided free of charge or at a discount, the advertising nature of the post must be clearly indicated. The same obligation applies where content relating to prize draws, competitions or campaigns is shared, or where a benefit is obtained in return for participation in the advertiser’s event.

In such posts, the inclusion of either the term ‘Advertisement’ or ‘Promotion’ is mandatory. Alongside these terms, the advertiser’s name or trading name, or one of the following statements, must be used:

“Provided by @[advertiser].”
“Thanks to @[advertiser] for sending me the products.”
“Thanks to @[advertiser].”

Labels and disclosures must be distinguishable from the background, easily legible and positioned so that the consumer can see them without having to scroll the screen. Where other labels and disclosures are used, the advertising disclosure must appear before them; if the content is spread across multiple posts, it must be repeated in each post. In the case of audio-only posts, the advertising disclosure must be made at the beginning of the broadcast and before the advertising content.

Our assessment: The provisions requiring an advertising disclosure list examples by way of illustration; therefore, the assessment should not be limited to explicitly stated situations such as financial gain, the provision of free or discounted goods or services, or participation in an event. The content of every post in which the advertiser derives a direct or indirect benefit, and the relationship between the parties, must be examined separately. It would therefore be advisable for advertisers to determine in advance the disclosures to be used across different types of posts and the principles governing their placement; to review content prior to publication; and to review contracts with social media influencers in terms of labelling obligations, content approval, correction and removal processes, as well as audit and indemnity provisions.

• Transparency in Targeted Advertising and Restrictions Regarding Children

Under the provisions on targeted advertising added to the Regulation, the practice of presenting advertising content tailored to specific individuals or groups by analysing consumers’ online behaviour, past preferences, location data or demographic data is also regulated. In order for targeted advertising to be carried out, the consumer must be provided with direct and easily accessible information regarding the criteria on the basis of which the advertisement is displayed and how these criteria can be altered. In cases where it is known, or can reasonably be expected to be known, that the consumer is a child, targeted advertising based on profiling methods is prohibited.

Our assessment: The lawfulness of targeted advertising does not depend solely on the processing of personal data being based on a valid legal ground or, where necessary, on the obtaining of explicit consent. The consumer must also be able to understand why a particular advertisement is being shown to them and be able to actually change the targeting criteria. For this reason, it is not sufficient to simply refer the consumer to a general privacy notice or cookie policy; the key criteria used in displaying the advertisement and how these criteria can be changed must be explained via a direct, easily accessible and comprehensible interface.

• Verification of Consumer Reviews and the 48-Hour Time Limit on Complaints Platforms

The amendments made to Article 28/B of the Regulation have reinforced the approach whereby consumer reviews may only be submitted by individuals who have purchased the relevant goods or services, and this verification must form the basis of the publication process. The publication of reviews obtained from other channels where the purchase process cannot be verified is prohibited.

Platforms’ review policies must not be formulated in such a way as to prevent consumers from commenting on goods, services or related ancillary contracts, or to restrict reviews to specific topics. Where reviews are published under different headings, it must be possible to access all of them easily within the same section.

Reviews from the internet may be used on other platforms only on condition that they accurately reflect the general content and rating structure of the reviews on the relevant platform. Unverified reviews may not be used in advertisements.

With regard to complaint platforms, the phrase ‘at least seventy-two hours’ in Article 28/C-1-(a) of the Regulation has been amended to ‘forty-eight hours’; it has been stipulated that if no response is provided within the allotted time, the review shall be published directly.

Our assessment: It would be appropriate to document the purchase verification chain, align the rules governing the publication and moderation of reviews with the Regulation, ensure that reviews published under different headings are accessible from the same section, and prevent the use of unverified reviews in advertising content. As regards complaint platforms, given that not only has the timeframe been shortened but the phrase ‘at least’ has also been removed from the previous text, the forty-eight-hour period must be applied as a fixed timeframe. The channels through which complaint notifications are tracked, internal response and approval workflows, and purchase verification systems must be structured in accordance with this timeframe.

Parties Subject to the New Obligations

The obligations introduced do not apply to all parties to the same extent. The table below sets out the regulations in relation to the parties directly addressed in the text of the provisions.

• Relationship Between Obligations and Addressees

PRIORITY COMPLIANCE STEPS FOR COMPANIES

The Amendment Regulation has made the practice, as shaped by guidelines and policy decisions, binding at the regulatory level and has introduced new obligations regarding the topics examined. Accordingly, it would be advisable not to proceed on the assumption that existing compliance efforts are sufficient, and to review the following areas.

• Compliance Checklist