In her motion on the declaration of advertising by influencers in Switzerland, Rumy Farah calls on the Federal Council to create a legal basis for influencer advertising, as such advertising is often not declared correctly. However, the Federal Council relies on the UCA and the practice of the SLK and recognises no legal uncertainty due to the lack of legislation and therefore no need to create a legal basis
Motion 24.3257 on the declaration of advertising by influencers in Switzerland called on the Federal Council to create a legal basis in the area of influencer advertising, as there is a lack of transparency and fairness in the area of advertising disseminated on social media and this should be promoted.
The idea behind this is that consumers should not be deceived by hidden and incorrectly declared advertising. The lack of declaration is attributed to an inadequate legal basis.
The legal basis should primarily strengthen the obligation to declare influencer advertising. This should include measures that apply to both influencers and their clients. The motion also calls for an existing or newly established authority to take action if an incorrect declaration is identified, in order to ensure that the legislation is enforced.
The Federal Council comments
The Federal Council is aware of the current situation of the increasing importance of influencers on social media platforms. It is also aware that the product placements they make are not always declared as advertising.
However, the Federal Council confirms that, in principle, influencer advertising also falls within the scope of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UCA). The general principles of competition, including the requirement of good faith in accordance with Art. 2 UCA and the prohibition of deception and misleading behaviour in accordance with Art. 3 para. 1 lit. b UCA, also apply to advertising by influencers. According to the Federal Council, these would then have to be examined on a case-by-case basis.
The Federal Council also refers to the established practice of the Swiss Commission on Fair Trading (SLK). From this, the Federal Council concludes that there is no general labelling obligation for commercial communication, i.e. advertising, in the event that it is recognisable as such for the average addressee in individual cases. The Federal Council thus implicitly confirms that clearly recognisable advertising does not have to be additionally declared as such in order to meet the requirements of the SLK.
Based on the statements made, the Federal Council considers the situation to be clear and cannot identify any legal uncertainty.
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