ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Massimo Tavella, Jacopo Ciani and Barbara Mazzi, Tavella Avvocati Associati
March 2026. While there is no specific law provision at this time, under the Consumer Code, misleading environmental claims are treated as unfair commercial practices because they can distort consumer choices. Article 12 of the IAP Code is explicitly directed to fight greenwashing: any advertisement claiming environ - mental or ecological benefits must be truthful, perti - nent and scientifically verifiable. Moreover, any claim must clearly specify which aspect of the product or activity of the advertiser the benefit pertains to. In the EU Commission’s plan the directive should have been complemented by the Green Claims Directive, but the Commission announced in June 2025 its intention to withdraw the proposal. 2.7 Disclosures Disclosure in advertising is an expression of the prin - ciple of transparency, essential to ensure that adver - tising does not mislead consumers. Articles 7 (1) and (2) Directive 2005/29/EC establish a positive obliga - tion on traders to provide all the “material informa - tion” that the average consumer needs to make an informed purchasing decision. The UCPD does not define “material information” but limitations, condi - tions, paid partnerships or potential conflicts of inter - est are considered as such and must be clearly and immediately visible to the public. The commercial intent of a commercial practice should be disclosed, as well as a material information. Arti - cle 6 (a) of the e-Commerce Directive, Articles 9, 10 and 28 (b) of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMSD), similarly to Article 7 (2) UCPD, establish that failing to identify the commercial intent of a practice is regarded as a misleading omission. The driving force behind all influencer marketing regu - lation adopted by advertising self-regulation authori - ties is the principle that influencers must disclose when they have a material connection with brands they promote through clear and understandable dis - claimers such as #ad or #sponsored. Disclosures and disclaimers must be clear and promi - nent (not hidden in fine print, obscured by design ele - ments or buried in terms and conditions), and com - prehensible for the target audience. For video or audio ads, disclosures should be shown long enough to be
read or heard. Disclosures should appear before or at the same time and close to the claim they are clarify - ing. They should not require the consumer to click through links, scroll excessively, or search for them. Disclosures must be tailored to the format of the ad. They cannot contradict or undermine the main claim of the advertisement. Advertisers cannot rely on dis - Many “value-added” claims are regulated to prevent misleading consumers. Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods – often referred to as the and Health Claims Regulation (NHCR) – is the key piece of EU legislation that governs how nutrition (eg, “low fat”, “high fibre”, “source of vitamin C”) and health claims (eg, “calci - um is needed for the maintenance of normal bones”, “supports the immune system”) can be made on food products marketed in the European Union. closures to fix a misleading ad. 2.8 Other Regulated Claims Other product indications such as those concern - ing protected designation of origin or geographical origin (Regulation EU 1151/2012) or environmental claims are regulated at EU or national level. Exam - ples are Regulation (EU) 2018/848 which concerns organic production and labelling of organic products or Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 which establishes rules for the labelling of detergents as biodegrad - able. The advertising self-regulation system provides for specific guidelines for specific products such as veterinary medicinal products, dietary supplements and food and beverages for children and their proper nutrition. 3. Limitations and Special Laws 3.1 Representation and Stereotypes in Advertising The Italian Highway Code now includes provisions (see Article 23) that prohibit sexist and discriminatory advertising, including offensive, violent representa - tions based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability, on roads, public transport and vehicles. These measures were introduced in Novem - ber and incorporated into the broader reforms of the
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