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ARTICLE · 11 JULY 2012

Misleading Commercial Practices By Affiliate Marketing

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
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Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

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Undertakings given by MoreNiche Limited in relation to breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

United KingdomConsumer Protection
Mark Alsop
Mark Alsop

MoreNiche operates an affiliate marketing network which enables affiliate marketing businesses on that network to promote products offered by product merchant businesses. An affiliate which promotes the product of a MoreNiche merchant will, along with MoreNiche, earn money when a consumer clicks through from the affiliate's website to the merchant's website to make a purchase. MoreNiche's online network has 30 product merchant businesses and over 149,000 affiliate marketing businesses worldwide.

The OFT was concerned that, in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, reviews and product endorsements running on some affiliate's websites were presented as independent consumer reviews when they were actually commercial promotions. The OFT believe that consumers are more likely to be influenced to buy products having read apparently unbiased reviews rather than reviews which were in fact clearly a form of advertising. The OFT took the view

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