The Competition Committee, within the scope of its authority, exercises state control over compliance with advertising legislation and the protection of consumer rights.
The Committee’s monitoring and analysis have revealed that advertisements placed in mass media, on websites, and across social media platforms continue to include misleading or inaccurate information or otherwise violate the requirements of advertising legislation. Most of these violations are related to advertisements for financial services.
In particular, during the reporting period, the Committee imposed financial penalties, in accordance with the established procedure, on more than 20 commercial banks and microfinance organizations for disseminating misleading advertisements related to financial services.
Under Article 43 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Advertising”, advertisements for financial services must:
— be clearly distinguishable as advertisements or promotional information about financial services;
— not abuse consumers’ trust or take advantage of their lack of experience or knowledge;
— not contain information unrelated to the advertised financial services;
— fully disclose the essential terms and conditions relevant to concluding a contract.
However, the Committee found that some advertisements failed to provide, or presented in an unclear and difficult-to-read manner, essential information such as interest rates on deposits and loans, validity periods, minimum requirements, additional charges, microloan conditions, intermediary fees, or insurance payments.
The Committee also identified cases where advertisers used ambiguous wording, exaggerated service conditions, or employed keywords associated with the names and trademarks of other organizations, thereby misleading consumers. Such practices violate consumers’ right to receive accurate, complete, and reliable information about goods, works, and services.
The Competition Committee warns that information contained in advertisements for financial services must be accurate, complete, easy to read, and presented in a clear and understandable manner. Essential information must not be hidden in fine print, displayed in text that blends into the background, or otherwise made difficult to read.
The Committee also informs that where misleading or inaccurate advertisements of financial services are identified, the responsible entities will be subject to the appropriate financial sanctions in accordance with the legislation.
