Fairness Commission: More than 400 complaints received for the first time

Of the 441 complaints, around two thirds were upheld. The number of proceedings has been rising steadily since 2005, and in 2010 the SLK had to rule on 382 complaints. This is shown in the activity report 2011 of the Fairness Commission. According to its statement on Saturday, the offense of "aggressive sales methods" has also continued to increase.

While 34 percent of complaints fell into this category in 2009 and slightly more than half in 2010, this figure had already risen to 62.1 percent of all submissions in 2011. Among the other grounds for complaint were "misleading" or "sexism". For example, the commission considered "sexism" to be fulfilled in the case of a butcher's shop. It had advertised its meat with women's legs and the slogan "best meat in town". A rebuke by the SLK to a nuclear power plant operator who had advertised nuclear power plants as "CO2-free" caused a stir.

SLK pushed to the limits of its capacity
Of last year's complaints, three quarters concerned commercial communication to an individual address, for example by telephone. Just one quarter related to the public domain, such as advertising on the Internet, on posters or in the media. In 2008, this ratio was still balanced. The increase in commercial communication to individuals has led to the commission reaching the limits of its capacity, the report says. For this reason, a processing fee of 50 francs per complaint was introduced on an experimental basis at the beginning of 2012. Complaints against advertising in the public domain continue to be exempt from the fee. This is because ensuring fairness in the public sector is the commission's main goal, the activity report continues.