SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lukas Bühlmann, Michael Reinle and Michael Schüepp, MLL Legal
MLL Legal Schiffbaustrasse 2 PO Box
8031 Zurich Switzerland Tel: +41 58 552 04 80 Email: lukas.buehlmann@mll-legal.com Web: www.mll-legal.com
Overview Last year, Swiss authorities proposed and adopted an interesting mix of measures affecting advertising and marketing. In short: • comparative price advertising was reshaped by the revision of the Price Indication Ordinance; • health-insurance marketing now includes a binding ban on cold calling; • the Federal Council set a sector-specific course for AI anchored in the Council of Europe’s AI Conven - tion; • the Digital Services Act-inspired platforms bill has again failed to materialise; • parliament adopted stricter rules for tobacco prod - ucts in order to enhance the protection of minors; • parliament declined to create a specific regime for influencer marketing; • the Federal Supreme Court confirmed that mere website accessibility in Switzerland is not enough for Swiss unfair competition law to apply; • the Federal Data Protection and Information Com - missioner (FDPIC) clarified that cookie banners are generally required in advertising practice; and • the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) closed its Temu case after agreed changes. Current Legislative Developments Revision of the Price Indication Ordinance On 1 January 2025, the revised version of Article 16 of the Price Indication Ordinance entered into force. The provision is central for B2C price advertising, as it sets the conditions for admissible comparative price indications.
The revision significantly relaxes the requirements for displaying a prior comparison price alongside the current sales price (eg, “CHF30 instead of CHF40”). From now on, a comparative price may be used for an unlimited period, provided it has been applied for 30 consecutive days. Only where this is not the case would advertisers have to rely on the alternative (that is stipulated in the current regulation), which, however, is subject to strict time restrictions – ie, the advertising may only be shown for half the duration during which the earlier price was applied and, in any case, not longer than two months. Surprisingly, the 30-day period does not need to directly precede the advertising. It can lie further in the past, which marks a significant departure from the earlier system. The change constitutes a radical shift compared to the previous regulation and also differs substantially from the EU Price Indication Directive and its German implementation. Even the parliamen - tary motion (No 21.4161) that triggered the revision did not demand such far-reaching changes. For advertisers, the new rules greatly simplify compli - ance when using comparative price advertising. Regulation of health insurance advertising and cold calling On 1 September 2024, the revised Federal Act and Ordinance on the Regulation of Insurance Interme - diary Activities entered into force. The amendments make previously voluntary provisions of the industry agreement binding for all health insurers and give
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