GOOGLE SHALL PAY ANOTHER FINE FOR INAPPROPRIATE ADVERTISING

The search system was disseminating a context advertisement about financial investments from a company that did not have an appropriate license

On 19 March 2020, FAS fined the “Google LLC” Corporation 100,000 RUB as the advertising distributor of inappropriate advertisement of financial services of “AB INNOVATIONS LTD”, which does not have a license for such operations.

In February 2020, the FAS Commission found advertising of “AB INNOVATIONS LTD” about income from investments was inappropriate and breaching the Law on advertising [1].

The advertisement appeared on www.google.com in summer 2019.

Head of FAS Department for Control over Advertising and Unfair Competition, Tatiana Nikitina, pointed out: “The law clearly defines a requirement to advertising financial services: it can be given by only those advertisers who have licenses for the advertised operations. An advertisement disseminator, in this case – Google – must check whether such licenses are available”.

Reference:

Clause 7 Article 7 of the Federal Law “On advertising” prohibits advertising of goods (services), production and (or) sale of which requires licenses or other special permits, if such permits are not obtained.

Under Part 7 Article 38 of the Federal Law “On advertising”, an advertising disseminator is liable for breaching the norms of Clause 7 Article 7 of the Federal Law “On advertising”.

[1] Clause 7 Article 7