MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Karl Tanti and Christine Borg Millo, AE Legal
1. Legal Framework and Regulatory Bodies 1.1 Primary Laws and Regulation Advertising in Malta is primarily regulated under the Consumer Affairs Act (Chapter 378 of the Laws of Malta), the Broadcasting Act (Chapter 350 of the Laws of Malta), as well as subsidiary legislation pertaining to specific sectors. Whilst the Commercial Code (Chapter 13 of the Laws of Malta) does not explicitly regulate advertising prac - tices, it does set out the general legal framework for acts of commerce and is particularly relevant to adver - tising insofar as this can lead to complaints of unfair competition. 1.2 Enforcement and Regulatory Authorities The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Author - ity (MCCAA) is the principal body overseeing advertis - ing from a consumer protection perspective. It enforc - es the Consumer Affairs Act and the Competition Act (Chapter 379 of the Laws of Malta), ensuring that advertising is not unfair, misleading, or anti-compet - itive. The MCCAA has the power to investigate com - plaints, issue compliance orders, impose administra - tive fines, require corrective advertising, and accept binding commitments from traders. Claims of up to EUR10,000 are resolved by the Consumer Claims Tri - bunal. Larger claims are heard before the Maltese civil courts. Consumer violations are punishable by fines of up to EUR47,000. Violations falling within the scope of the Broadcasting Act are enforced through the Broadcasting Authority (BA). The BA monitors and regulates all radio and tel - evision broadcasts from Malta. Violations of this Act are punishable by fines of up to EUR11,646, a six- month prison term, or both. Breaches related to advertisements that are regulat - ed by other legislation are subject to the applicable enforcement authorities, according to the law, includ - ing: • the Malta Gaming Authority, for adverts and pro - motions relating to gambling services under the Gaming Act;
• the Malta Financial Services Authority, for adver - tising of financial services and products, includ - ing investment services and insurance, under the Investment Services Act and the Insurance Distri - bution Act; and • the Information and Data Protection Commis - sioner (IDPC), which regulates advertising practices involving personal data, among others. 1.3 Liability for Deceptive Advertising Deceptive advertising is any commercial communica - tion that, by providing false or misleading information, or omitting material details in presentation or timing, deceives or is likely to deceive the average consum - er, influencing their economic decision. It is primar - ily regulated by the Broadcasting Act, the Consumer Affairs Act and the Commercial Code (Chapter 13 of the Laws of Malta). The main liability falls on traders and businesses that issue advertising as part of their commercial prac - tices. Under the Consumer Affairs Act, any trader who engages in a misleading action, omission, or aggres - sive practice can be held responsible, regardless of whether the advertising was published directly by the business or through third parties. In addition, advertising agencies, media outlets, and publishers may also incur liability where they know - ingly participate in or disseminate misleading content. The Commercial Code, in Article 32B, also defines deceptive forms of advertising in the same manner as the Consumer Affairs Act. In a very limited manner, it addresses the liability of “traders” who contravene any of the prohibitions related to deceptive advertising within this code. In determining whether an advertise - ment is misleading, the law considers, when looking at the product or service as a whole, whether it gives false of unclear information about: • the product or service itself – such as its avail - ability, quality, features, purpose, origin, how it is made, what it can do, or the results of any tests carried out; • the price – including how the price is worked out and the conditions under which the product or service is offered; and
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