Advertising, Marketing & Promotion Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 What are the main legislative and regulatory provisions that govern advertising in your jurisdiction?

In the Netherlands, advertising is primarily governed by consumer protection laws such as:

• the Unfair Commercial Practices Act; and
• the Distance Selling Act, which is part of the Civil Code and is based on:
• • the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive;
  • the EU Consumer Rights Directive;
  • the EU Unfair Contract Terms Directive;
  • the EU Consumer Sales Directive; and
  • the Price Indication Decree (based on the EU Price Indication Directive).

Other important Dutch laws applicable to advertising include:

• the Telecommunications Act, based on the EU E-privacy Directive; and